


Edge of Doom Part 1: Republic Fracture

by Golm_Fersve_Dra



Series: Edge of Doom: A Bothan Story [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alpheridies, Antar (star wars), Bothan, Coruscant (Star Wars), Felucia (Star Wars), Galactic Republic, Gen, Judicial Forces, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 47
Words: 178,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25142902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golm_Fersve_Dra/pseuds/Golm_Fersve_Dra
Summary: Alien members of the Republic Judicial Forces face shifting alliances and growing tensions on the eve of the Naval and Military Creation Act(s). With the Clone Wars just around the corner, many are likely to find themselves on opposite sides of the growing conflict.
Series: Edge of Doom: A Bothan Story [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821361
Comments: 5
Kudos: 1





	1. Itoll Oc'nel

**Author's Note:**

> The story is told entirely from the perspective of my own OCs (Original Characters). I have included canon characters in the list of characters who show up as background characters in this story. With the exception of Rael Averross, Kendal Ozzel, and Wilhuff Tarkin, most play a very minor role in this story (although, some become much more important characters in later books).
> 
> I do use two Constructed Languages (Conlangs) in this fanfiction. One is Bothese, which I have mostly invented completely from scratch and have the grammar posted for here: 
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/golm-fervse-dra/art/A-Grammar-of-Bothese-847514993
> 
> The other Conlang is Shyriiwook which I borrowed many words from Legends and Canon sources for. 
> 
> I have also posted this on Fanfiction dot net.

Felucia

13 ArS (22 BBY)

EXTRAORDINARY EXTRACTION referred to a particularly questionable practice which had grown in popularity in the waning days of the Republic.

When given a warrant to conduct an Extraordinary Extraction, the Republic Judicial forces, sometimes with the help of a Jedi or two, would simply extract a being from wherever they were in the Galaxy with force.

Most divisions in the Judicial Corps and Republic Office of Criminal Investigations, otherwise known as the ROCI, were dominated by humans, with humans comprising over 90% of all Judiciary personnel, mostly Core Worlders. However, the business of stealthily abducting pirate leaders, genocidal virologists, and rogue bounty hunters from the furthest reaches of the Galaxy, being a human was sometimes a disadvantage. In the Extraordinary Extraction Division, also known as the EED, there were only twelve humans. Itoll Oc'nel was not among them.

The extremely patient Bothan was a long-term observer. His short fur was mostly tannish brown. Like most Clan Onel Bothans, Oc’nel was also born with heterochromia—his left eye was blue, but his right eye was red-brown. 

A month ago, Governor Tarkin of Eriadu, a former Judicial himself, reported an offer personally given to him by Count Dooku. The Senate Intelligence Bureau then informed the ROCI. It had become imminently clear to the ROCI that Count Dooku was personally convincing many key systems to leave the Republic, in the flesh, through bribery. The Jedi were doubtful as to the veracity of Governor Tarkin's story, but the ROCI gave a warrant to the Judicial Forces to begin long term observation on Count Dooku himself nonetheless.

* * *

Gazing through the morning smoke caused by the locals burning their breakfast over open flames, he could see his co-observer, Jom Carver, trudging in the mud up to Kway Teow Spaceport.

While Oc'nel's current field partner, Jom Carver, was one of the rare humans in the EED, he had a sufficiently seedy appearance to fit in on any Hutt world.

Jom Carver towered over most non-humans. He had a mangy greying afro and beard which was far lighter than his dark skin. Exotic red and yellow flame-shaped tattoos were visible under his sleeve. When undercover in the field, Carver often wore a swamp-camouflaged tank-top fully exposing his muscly, flame tattoo-wrapped arms. Today, however, he wore a green raincoat and gloves.

Even around the Felucian capital city of Kway Teow, brushing ones skin on a plant could spell a trip to the medcenter. The flora of Felucia was far more dangerous than the fauna.

Oc'nel had positioned himself on a hill overlooking the space port. He was wearing his personal Reinforced Insulated Sheath armour with an elongated faceplate to fit his snout. Over it, was a light green ghillie suit.

"All right Carver," Oc'nel said "there are two Gossams approaching from the rear. They look harmless enough, but I suggest turning around or stepping to the side."

"Solid copy," Carver replied in a gruff mumble as he stepped to the side. The two fast-walking Gossams passed him by.

Carver reached the entrance to the spaceport and began wiping off his boots at the external self-cleaning station.

"Crossing point of ingress now," Carver said.

“Roger that, I’ll keep a lookout out here.” Oc’nel switched channels to the _Agarath_ , their Interceptor Frigate in orbit. The _Agarath_ had no Judicial or Republic markings, for obvious reasons. “ _Agarath,_ do you copy? Cresh-5 has crossed the point of ingress. I say again, Carver is in the spaceport.”

"Copy that. Agent, you gettin' any visual on the ship approaching the spaceport?" Rael Aveross asked.

Rael Averross, Dooku's only living former Padawan, was the Jedi master in charge of their mission. Secretly, Oc'nel did not trust him further than he could throw a Lothcat, and neither did any of the other Judicials. They had all read the reports of Rael Averross being acquitted for killing his own Padawan, and ten years ago, accidentally selling a planet to Czerka corporation on behalf of the Republic.

"Yeah… I…," Oc'nel began tinkering with his vizor to zoom in. "It appears to be a Koorivar ship."

Averross broadcasted to everyone on the taskforce in his thick Ringo Vindan drawl: "A Koorivar ship is approachin' the spaceport landin' in Hangar 9. Oc'nel, Carver, get a target ID on any of the passengers."

"Copy that," said Oc'nel and Carver in unison.

"I am already at Hangar 9. No evidence of Dooku's ship…"

"Blast!" Averross yelled into the channel.

"I will hide behind some cargo crates and ID whoever comes out. I still have the tracking equipment," Carver said.

A light drizzle began as the ship descended into the open spaceport out of Oc'nel's view.

Oc'nel pulled out his datapad and displayed Carver's camera view on his screen. Carver was positioned behind several crates, and the hangar was only illuminated by the grey light coming from the sky. The ship had already landed.

Two Gossams, probably the two they had seen earlier, crawled into view, pushing a red solid carpet up to the ship. They scurried to the left and right as a ramp descended.

"Talk about showy…" Carver mumbled gruffly into the line as two silver B-2 Battle Droids lumbered down the steps. Carver's camera wobbled as he adjusted his vest. The camera was of Corulag origin, designed to look like a coat button.

Looking up from the datapad at the space port below, nothing on the outside had changed. A few moments later Carver's voice whispered excitedly into the channel. "I have ID on the target. It is Passel Argente! I say again Master, it is Passel Argente."

Oc'nel looked quickly down at his datapad again to see for himself. To his surprise, the camera view was now entirely static.

"One sec," Averross muttered. "Jazal here is suggestin'—"

A female voice from the red-haired Miraluka Jedi Knight, Jazal, cut into the feed "—Begin Lekku Tau Osh on Passel Argente." The static interference on Oc'nel's end became worse but she repeated "I say again, begin long term observation of Passel Argente."

Averross said something into the channel but it was too staticky for Oc'nel to hear. Perhaps Averross and Jazal were arguing, but Oc'nel had to fix the interference.

"Is anyone else experiencing this static? My camera view is out," he asked.

"Say again?" Averross voice was barely audible. "You are *STATIC*. What *STATIC* status? *STATIC* breaking *STATIC* *STATIC* *STATIC* breaking up—"

Jazal's voice cut in "The _Jade_ has detected three heat signatures *STATIC*"

"Oc'nel [*STATIC*]" he could hear Carver saying something completely inaudible. A second later, all he could hear was static.

Oc'nel looked back to the spaceport and saw some Koorivars and the two Gossams enter a speeder. Those couldn't be the heat signatures they were talking about which the _Jade_ , their assault transport, had detected.

Perhaps if they were not close enough to be seen, they were close enough for him to smell them. While Bothans had a sense of smell many times better than a human's, it was impossible to smell anything outside through his filtered helmet

Oc'nel lifted his helmet up slightly, opening it at the neck. He could smell the humid steamy jungly scent but, worryingly, also the musky odour of a Koorivar. His fur fell flat against his body in fear.

"Blast," he muttered under his breath before yelling in pain. Something had hit his side so hard that it flipped him on his back. He heard a rib crack.

His helmet had flown off completely and he was now looking straight up at the largest Koorivar he had ever seen. Rain fell into his face, splashing into his nostrils and eyes. He twitched two fingers on his left hand, trying to activate his wrist-blaster as surreptitiously as possible.

The Korrivar said " _Zo erz woks_?" _Who are you?_ in heavily accented, but perfectly intelligible Bothese. " _Zo erz pa pagrum ta?"_ [What is your clan?]

Oc'nel was so taken aback he momentarily stopped doing anything. The Republic had instructed all personnel that if captured to inform their captors of their name and position. Oc'nel thought divulging the latter bit of information was, in this case, unwise.

Clutching at his side, he replied, in a croaky wounded voice, " _Erz ko pa Itoll Oc'nel. Erz pa pagrum mo Onel,_ " [My name is Itoll Oc'nel. My clan is Onel.]

A slight vibration from his bracer let him know his wristblaster was now active.

The Koorivar gasped, took a step closer, then, to Oc'nel's complete surprise, stomped on his face with a rubber boot.

Oc'nel lifted his arm and began firing blindly with his wristblaster as he heard his own crunching bones.


	2. Zuro Pax

Felucia

Extraction Team Cresh moved as fast as possible to Oc'nel's hill aboard the _Jade._ Like the _Agarath_ , the _Jade_ had an unassuming appearance. Slightly larger than a Republic LAAT, the _Jade_ was a Sienar-Chall Utilipede. Originally painted red and white, the EED had repainted it an ugly sandy brown.

A blue-skinned Duros with red eyes, Zuro Pax, led extraction team Cresh. The other three members of the Extraction team were Awerl, a huge male Wookiee specialising in grab and go, a female Gand named Driffu, and a green-coloured male Rodian with blue spines named Brent Fojo, their medic.

The other beings aboard the _Jade_ were the pilot and co-pilot, Rama Stunol, a female Duros, and a female Twi'lek named Lanya Pran.

All of Team Cresh were wearing armour lacking any Republic markings, except for the Wookiee. The Wookiee was wore nothing aside from rubber parasite-proof boots, and a thin plastic one-eared headset which set awkwardly on his fur.

The main reason Awerl could get away with such ridiculous appearance choices without being the target of laughter was that he, like every other member of his species, could rip almost any other being in two. Wookiees could break both spoken and unspoken social rules. Social rules like _your boss, team leader, whatever… is your boss. If a boss says something perfectly reasonable you don't like, you should not roar angrily and then do it begrudgingly with a bad attitude._ They could also break rules that almost no other humanoids could like _you should wear clothes._ _If you are naked in a place where it is customary, you should cover the spot you are sitting on with a towel_ , and, Pax thought, even more basic rules which Duros, Rodians, Twi'leks, or humans learn as children. These rules included things such as _you should not cheat at games and you should play nice_.

While Pax and the others liked Awerl, there were many things they wished they could tell him but were afraid to say. Pax had met calmer and far less volatile Wookiees before, even Wookiees who wore clothes, but they were Senators, religious, and business leaders, and even one Jedi.

The types of Wookiees who got into professions where they held a blaster tended to be much more socially obnoxious, angry, and generally volatile, especially if they were cops.

After working with the rookie Awerl for a year, Pax felt he had finally become accustomed to the Wookiees various eccentricities. Then suddenly, Awerl and one of Pax's older sisters Cerei, got together the evening all of them met at Senate social gathering. They had not been to Coruscant in a few months but Awerl communicated with her on the HoloNet regularly.

Pax had absolutely no idea what Cerei saw in Awerl, other than his size, and perhaps his ridiculous bluntness. While their parents seemed to actually like Awerl, their grandparents on their father's side were absolutely furious. Sometimes Pax could overhear others in the department talking about it and laughing about his sister dating a walking carpet.

[Do you think I am annoying? Do you think I am more annoying than Averross?] growled Awerl in Shyriiwook, as if he knew Pax was thinking about him.

Pax muted his helmet's internal mic so no one on the _Agarath_ could hear. "No, I don't think you are more annoying than Averross," he replied surprised, realising he must have been staring at Awerl.

As the _Jade_ approached the hill, both side hatches opened. To his right, a few hundred meters away, Pax could see one figure approaching Oc'nel, who was prone in the greenery. Three other figures were wandering around the bottom of the hill with what appeared to be scanners. The area around the hill was dense jungle, but the jungle had been cleared from the hill and from around the spaceport.

Pax saw one figure whack Oc'nel with a polearm.

"Oc'nel is under attack! Permission to engage the targets on the hill?"

"Yeah, hit 'em hard," Averross said in an alarmingly calm tone.

Jazal's voice came urgently through the channel to everyone. "Be sure to use non-lethal force! The Commerce Guild has seceded from the Republic and no longer recognises our authority. Killing their personnel in the could be seen as an act of war." Jazal then added in a speech-giving tone, "we are here to arrest Separatist leaders who have committed crimes against the Republic, not wage war against the various corporate guilds or drag the Republic into a war with them."

Pax was the first one out of the transport, followed by Awerl, the Wookiee, who landed on the muddly ground with a splash.

Averross's voice unsurprisingly came next, as if to one-up Jazal and remind them who is boss. "Remember, we can go down there and whack a few of 'em with our lightsabers, but if we do, then everyone on the planet knows the Republic was here, and that the Republic attacked them. I need you yokel brains to get this done."

The Extraction team was running fast to the hill. They now could see that the figures were Koorivar.

"Everyone," Pax said frantically, "switch to the team channel!" He switched channels on his headset and could no longer hear the Jedi giving advice.

Awerl roared angrily into the channel in Shyriiwook “AYE NYRR-RARGH GA GRRRRUPMPRRR! _”_ [DAMN THEY ARE ANNOYING!]

"Master Nerf Herder annoys me too, but we have to ignore it and be professional. We are going to try and do this non-lethal." Pax agreed with Awerl's complaints for once, although he wouldn't have voiced them himself.

While running, Pax took the lethal slug ammunition out from the bottom of the slug thrower, put the lethal ammunition in his cargo pocket, and popped in an ammunition cartridge coloured green for non-lethal. "I am going to hit those Korrivar with plastic slugs if I have to, the rest of you set your blasters to stun! My rounds are non-lethal, but they can sometimes cause damage."

"Roger that!" the two other basic-speaking members of the team members said in unison.

As they advanced up the hill, the static interference intensified. They were all close enough together for that to not matter but would have no way of calling for backup.

The Koorivar nearest to Oc'nel seemed to stomp onto his face, and they could see blaster fire going from Oc'nel's wrist into the Koorivar over him. That Koorivar collapsed, and the other Koorivars in the middle of the hill began running up towards the sound of blaster fire.

"Everyone, double time! Weapons free!"

The Extraction team at the bottom of the hill was now gaining on the Koorivars, who seemed to be unaware that four individuals were now in pursuit.

Pax did not have to fire a shot. As the Extraction Team cleared the crest of the hill, Driffu, Fojo, and Awerl stunned all three Koorivars before they could say a word.

The scene was a mess. The huge Korrivar was laying on top of Oc'nel, and both of them were laying on top of a puddle of blood. The Korrivar was clutching at his stomach, struggling to get up.

"Who are you! What are you doing here?" he grunted in a pained voice.

"Oc'nel! Can you hear me!" Fojo said urgently as he worked to pull the Korrivar off.

Awerl approached and pulled the Koorivar off with one arm dropping him next to Oc'nel. He then began patting the Koorivar down, grabbing electronics, various knifes, a pistol from the Koorivar's pockets. The Gand had his blaster aimed at the Koorivar, covering Awerl. The Koorivar was visibly angry but did not dare resist the Wookiee's search.

Oc'nel raised one hand and let out an incomprehensible gurgle as if to answer Fojo's question, then began coughing.

Awerl separated the electronics from the blasters and knives.

"One of those must be a jammer. Smash everything until the interference stops!" Pax yelled.

"Hey those are expensive! Those are all property of the Corporate Alliance and you will be held liable!" The Koorivar protested as Awerl frantically stomped on every one of his electronics.

To Pax's surprise, the interference stopped once Awerl crushed something that looked like a scanner wand. "Never seen a jammer that looked like that. Switch back to the general channel! We are clear." Pax said.

"—is anyone there? Can you hear me!" Averross's voice bellowed into the channel.

"We've secured the hill," Pax said. "Oc'nel is down, three Koorivar are stunned, and one's been blasted."

"What is the status of the casualties?" Jazal asked into the channel.

Fojo replied "Oc'nel has severe jaw injuries all along his snout, probably a crushed eye-socket, and several broken ribs…. I can stabilise his chest wounds." Fojo shifted over to the Koorivar "The Koorivar's lucky. Shot with a blaster but surprisingly, he'll make it. The shot missed his liver and passed right through his cheap Chitin armour. Had he been wearing better armour it would not have penetrated both sides. The heat would have cooked him to toast. I can stabilise him with some Bacta until his friends get here, or his knocked out friends—"

"—the Corporate Alliance will kill you all!" the big Korrivar interrupted.

" _Hua-yug loshgh nan nyrro warrrrgh?"_ [May I step on his face?] Awerl lifted his foot up menacingly over the Korrivar's face.

"No. Awerl, you may not stomp on his face," Pax said firmly.

"Whatever you scum are planning—"

The Korrivar was interrupted when the Gand shot him with a stun blast to the chest and passed out.

"It seemed like the best choice." Driffu said through her gas mask.

Pax switched to the pilot channel. "Rama, we could use a pick-up. One for medical evac."

"I know, we've been listening to the commotion too. On our way to pick up Carver then we'll be back. One click from the—" she stopped talking. "Pax switch back to the general channel."

Pax sighed and switched.

Averross's voice was echoing once more into Pax's earpiece. "Everyone, change of mission. Carver has planted a tracker on the ship, but the Corporate Alliance will suspect something's up. All of their bodyguards just got beat up on a hill and…" Averross paused "I think we need to make this look like piracy."

"Piracy?" Jazal, Pax, Fojo and Carver said at the same time in shock.

"Yeah piracy," Averross said.

"It makes sense," Driffu, the Gand, added supportively.

"You are suggesting we rob a ship on a Separatist world?" Jazal said angrily.

"We will some damage to the airport too," Averross said, as if that helped matters.

"Fojo, can you keep Oc'nel stable aboard the _Jade_ while we do this?"

"I am not sure about his head injuries." Fojo said as he squirted a Bacta cannister into the Korrivar's stomach wound. "I can keep him alive, but the longer this lasts, the more likely we risk permanent brain damage. I would not want to wait longer than 30 minutes."

"Respectfully, Master Averross," Pax said in a cautious tone, "I disagree. We stunned the Koorivar bodyguards here and Fojo has given them medical attention. We could steal some things from the ship and the spaceport, and do a smash op on the ship, but I don't think the Commerce Guild or Corporate Alliance will believe this was piracy. The longer we stay down here, the longer our risk of exposure."

"He's right," Jazal's said. "There are only four of them and the _Jade_ , assuming Fojo remains behind with Oc'nel. If the local security forces or droid response teams attack, they will be outnumbered with no backup and air support from only one ship." She paused for a moment then reasoned "they also were jamming Oc'nel. That means they knew he was transmitting to somewhere, and the Commerce Guild or Corporate Alliance may have tracked our position."

As the two Jedi continued lecturing each other, Extraction Team Crash began getting restless. Pax decided to switch to the pilot channel and call for the ship. _Whether Jazal wins the argument, or Averross does, we still need to be on the Jade._


	3. Jazal

  
Chapter 3: Jazal

Aboard the _Agarath_

This was the eyeless Miraluka Jedi Knight's first assignment that actually involved combat. When Jazal started as a Padawan, while others were whacking random objects with their lightsabers or mediating, Yarael Poof had guided his Padawan into researching her species' own genome and the remnants of the Jedi historical archives.

After two years of research, and then one year in the field supporting Master Poof on diplomatic missions, she both passed her trials and submitted a paper to the Corulag University-based journal _Current Exobiology_ outlining all of this dispelling many myths about her species, including those amongst the Jedi.

After the completing her Padawan trials, Jazal became ironically interested in the eye. She was granted four years of leave to complete a PhD in exobiology at Corulag University with a dissertation titled _An Evolutionary History of the Eye_ and helped Master Poof finish a primary school textbook titled _the Exobiology of the Eye,_ shortly before he passed away _._ When she returned to Coruscant, she anticipated a permanent position as a Consular in the Temple Science Lab, or perhaps the Temple Hospital.

Instead, she was assigned to be Master Averross's partner on a Judicial mission despite her own vocal protests.

* * *

The trouble on the ground contrasted with the relatively tame tension on the bridge. Normally, when Jedi were involved in a mission, the Judicials were ordered to take up position on some remote hill or stake out the Cantina. Perhaps they would cover the Jedi's rears during a breach with the Jedi always taking point, or simply to stay on the ship while the Jedi handled whatever was wrong on the ground. While the Extraction team had been called to do an emergency rescue, neither Jedi had to abandon their post and expose themselves on the planet.

All things considering, a lot more could have gone wrong.

Then suddenly, Master Rael Averross began coming up with a change in strategy. The Extraction team and Carver would enter the spaceport, with the help of the _Jade_ , wipe all of the security camera databanks, smash some things, and steal some things.

The spaceport was ten clicks from Kway Teow, so not nearly as close at the spaceport in most settlements, and today seemed like a very low traffic day so the plan was not unworkable.

However, to Jazal, it seemed like an unnecessary risk. How would the Judiciaries overpower the B-2 battle droids guarding the ship?

"Rama, can you shoot 'em with your laser canons without damaging the Koorivar ship?" Averross asked.

"Maybe we could Master, if they were lured out. Carver says they are both under the Koorivar ship—"

"—Yeah, I got it." Averross interrupted. "If we damage the Koorivar ship then Passel might take another one off that planet, and all of this damn Sith Piss would be pointless."

"We have three ships incoming!" Drega, the human helmsman, yelled while swivelling his chair to his other screen. "They are running dark. Like us, they have turned off their transponder codes, or perhaps don't have any. I can't ID until they are in visual range."

"I don't sense any lifeforms," Jazal said as she reached out further with the force.

"I don't sense anythin' either," Aveross added. "Do we have anything that could magnify 'em?"

"Already tried. Even at maximum magnification I cannot make them out. They appear to be much smaller than us," Drega reported. "Hopefully I'll be able to make them out in a few seconds…"

Jazal could sense everyone staring at the screen with apprehension. Some of them felt fear.

She pulled out her Shadowsync MK 5 Datapad. The datapad was of Rodian origin, and the screen was a viscous semi-solid that moulded to whatever shape the user needed. The inventor, Imigro Epid, had never been in a mineshaft in his life, yet thought he would be making a breakthrough in mining technology. He failed to realise artificial lighting, glowrods, glowsticks, and night vision goggles made his invention utterly pointless for dark environments. Despite this setback, he still became one of the Galaxies richest Rodians a few years later when the blind citizens of the Republic began buying it in droves.

Jazal moved her index finger to the blob shaped like a Senth, and pressed it, then moved her finger over the Cresh-shaped blob, skipping it, finally pressing a blob shaped like Mern. The main viewer of the ship was now blobbed onto her datapad screen. She ran her hands over it. The screen was mostly flat indicating empty space, but then, indeed as Drega said, she could feel three tiny blobs growing—no five!

"I feel five shapes. There are two smaller ones," she handed the Shadowsync datapad to Drega and let him run his hands on the blobs.

"She's right. Two tiny… blobs?"

"I see them!" the Aqualish Jazal was fairly certain was named Jassk said—Jazal could sense a name badge on her chest but could not sense printed letters on any surface unless they had depth. "They look like… well all of them must be some sort of droids. No organic life could survive that much thrust even with inertial dampening. They are flying ballistic." The Aqualish began hitting buttons at her station, "HMP Droid Gunships, Master. Boarding ships and infantry transports armed to the teeth with missiles. They've got two droid fighters too."

"Those HMPs probably have a dozen droids each, maybe Droideka," Averross said grimly. "Battle stations!" he yelled before messaging Rama and Pax in the general channel "We have droids incoming up here. They know we're up here, get the smash job done fast on the Koorivar ship. I want bugs in every room."

"Look!" the human female at the helm yelled.

Jazal felt curiosity and fear from everyone in the room. She brushed her hand on her Shadowsync datapad again and, this time, felt an odd web of blobs.

"What the—"

"Are those nets?" Drega asked.

"All batteries, open fire. Unload proton torpedoes. Nothin' gets through our defences!" Averross yelled. "Jam all transmissions. I don't want these things reporting our position."

Jazal could feel vibrations from the _Agarath_ firing on whatever was out there. "What about the team on the ground?"

"Hopefully, we'll finish these guys off quick," Averross muttered.

"IMPACT ALERT," Drega's voice came in a panic.

"Too late!"

"Those nets are going too fast!"

"All hands brace for impact, strap in and hold on, inertial dampeners to maximum!" Averross ordered, then muttered in a defeated voice "damn."

The sounds on bridge devolved into a cacophony of orders and panicking status reports. Jazal found her seat and strapped a buckle around her chest. Then she took a deep breath and tried centring herself with the force. It didn't work.

A moment later she was flung forward into her seatbelt then bounced back into her chair. Her Shadowsync datapad flew out of her hands and impacted on the console in front her, rebounding into her sternum, breast, and neck leaving bruises the as it slid up. It clipped the right side of her jaw, and finally, bounced back into her lap. She could taste blood.

Screams, yells, impact noises, electric sparks, and more alarms could be heard. The smell of burning plastic filled the air. She could sense death, pain, suffering. Averross got off lucky, and she could feel that he just had the wind knocked out of him. The human female had flown across the room and she briefly sensed the feeling of electrocution, but now no life from her, now she felt even more guilty for not remembering her name. Drega, she could feel was in severe pain in both arms and hands after he held out his hands to stop him from flying into his station. Jassk, the Aqualish, she could sense was knocked out but alive.

"Gah!" Drega yelled. "BLAST! My hands…"

"STATUS REPORT!" Averross bellowed.

Drega leaned over his station. "Our batteries and proton torpedoes got… gah…" he started wincing uncontrollably "we got one of the HMPs and both the droid fighters. Our front batteries have all stopped firing. The net… it hit the bow of the ship and is covering the torpedo tubes and front turbo lasers. Structural integrity is at holding and we have no breaches. Our shields are still up. We are now drifting backwards…" he said as he hit a button with his elbow. "There stabilised us."

Averross got the hint and started mashing buttons to help. "All decks, damage reports."

Jazal did not need to hear the reports. She had felt it.

"We lost six people including all of the gunnery crews," Jazal said in a dismayed voice.

"Engineering here, everyone's alive but we have lots of wounded."

"—sickbay ready to receive injured."

"—security here, we have wounded."

Averross looked at another terminal. "We are being boarded! The two remaining ships are tunnelling in at the torpedo bay two decks below the bridge. Security, how many much help can you offer?"

"I'll be there, and I'll bring two Judiciaries with blaster rifles, maybe we can spare a couple of engineers. Most of our combat-trained personnel are planet-side," a Mon Calamari voice said from the comm.

"Master, we could deal with this ourselves," Jazal said.

Averross blinked a few times stupidly. "Yeah… All hands, go to sickbay if you are injured. We are Jedi. We can handle this."


	4. Zuro Pax

Chapter 4: Pax

Felucia

All of Extraction Team Cresh except for Carver were now on the _Jade_ and closing in on the space port.

Piracy. Pax wondered if the Corporate Alliance and Commerce Guild would really come to that conclusion. What pirates gave careful Republic-grade medical attention to their fallen foes? What pirates set their blasters to stun?

The _Jade_ accelerated to faster than sound leaving a loud sonic boom in its wake. All the passengers were forced back into their seats, including Oc'nel. Pax could see one of Oc'nel's facial bandages slide up his snout revealing bloody gauze underneath.

"Blast!" Fojo said unable to do anything until the ship slows down. "I'm sorry Oc'nel. Kriffing Bothan fur is so hard to get bandages to stick to!"

In the midst of all of the commotion, Pax noticed something odd. There was a dirt-taste with hint of yeastiness in his mouth. After looking around the room, Pax realised Fojo's mouth was open even when he wasn't talking. Fojo was breathing through his mouth. _That's weird_ Pax thought, then he remembered the tales about how both Bothans, Wookiees many other furry sentients become very stinky when wet. Awerl was completely soaked and so was Oc'nel. _Lucky we Duros don't have noses,_ he thought to himself.

"Everything okay over there?" echoed from the Gand's gas mask followed by a cackle.

"Yes," Pax said.

The _Jade_ passed by the spaceport a second time. The sonic boom from the first run had sent everyone inside running away from the main entrance.

After the entrance looked clear, the _Jade_ let off a spray of slow, methodical, laser-cannon fire from a dish that was designed to look like a satellite receiver, burning through all the screening devices inside. A few battle droids were caught in the fire, not wise enough to get out of the way.

The hatch facing the airport opened and now everyone could hear an alarm sounding.

"Fojo, remain here and keep Oc'nel stable," Pax ordered. "The _Jade_ needs to keep us covered and keep any security teams from reaching the main entrance. Try and scare any organics away with warning shots. Weapons free on droids and droid vehicles."

"Aye," Rama said.

"Copy that," Lanya chimed in.

"The rest of you, on me, move out! Let's get to Hangar 9 quickly," Pax said before adding, "non-lethal force!"

They cleared the main entrance. The laser canon had cut a black swath across room in a horizontal line and destroyed all of the security equipment. Electronics and busted terminals were sparking everywhere. The alarm was loud in the spaceport.

Awerl clumsily stepped on a sparking wire and stepped back in alarm as sparks jumped a meter into the air.

"See, told'ya wearing rubber boots could save your life!" Pax said.

Awerl roared in Shyriiwook. "Yes but you all said fungus would injure my feet. Electricity nearly injured my feet, not fungus."

"Who cares if its fungus or electricity! Walking around barefoot here is dangerous," Pax said impatiently.

Awerl gave a neutral grunt.

"Incoming!" Driffu yelled as seven tan B1 battle droids emerged from the terminal into the entry room.

Pax immediately began shooting them with his slug, but the impact of the non-lethal shots merely dented their armour. A single shot shattered one of the droid's eyes and it collapsed.

Awerl fired stun shots from his blaster to no effect.

"Hit droids with lethal!" Pax ordered as he took cover under the baggage and cargo scanning station.

Driffu shot two of the droids then took cover as the remaining droids began blasting in her direction. Both droids collapsed.

Pax and Awerl fired at the remaining four droids until they all collapsed into broken smoking pieces.

"Carver, there are still droids in the space port. We are at point of ingress on our way to Hangar 9," Pax said into his helmet mic.

"I think that was all of them except for the B-2s near my position still guarding Passel's ship. They looked around briefly after the _Jade_ hit the spaceport but haven't moved since. I have not worked out how to eliminate them…" Carver said before adding, "yet."

As they moved through the terminals there was almost no one. The security guards had run in the opposite direction as Hangar 9. The bystanders seemed to just be passengers—a few Gossams here and there and one Felucian wearing a farmer's outfit who waved a farming tool angrily at the team as they passed by. The further they went from the entryway, the quieter the alarm was.

Carver was standing at the end of the terminal in front of a wide entryway. Cloudy grey sunlight illuminated the hangar from the roof opening, and two giant silver B-2 battle droids were standing on either side of the ramp leading up to the ship, facing forward obliviously.

Giving a shush signal, Carver beckoned for them to follow him. They took up position behind several cargo crates.

"We're gonna need to them hard," Pax said grimly.

"I am not sure anything we have can breach their armour. Anyone have an ion grenade handy?"

"Maybe the _Jade_ can hit them without damaging the ship," Carver suggested.

Soon after saying this, the _Jade_ contacted them as if in answer. "We have at least ten Droideka rolling up the mud path to the spaceport. Moving to intercept."

Suddenly, the two B-2s turned and began making electronic growling noises.

"They see us," Pax said before ordering "open fire!"

Carver, Driffu, Awerl and Pax began firing at the two Super Battle Droids. Some of their shots pushed the droids back slightly but did nothing else. Pax's shots dented their armour but had no other effect. Their eyes were too far away and too small for Pax to see.

"Anyone have any other ideas?" Pax asked urgently as the droids began firing fully automatic blaster shots in their direction. Stray shots were knocking off parts of the walls behind them, and one shot punched through the crate barely missing Awerl's head.

The Wookiee made an angry growl and, in answer to Pax's question, pushed his crate forward with all of his might. The crate scraped slowly forward on the floor until it reached the point where rain from the sky was falling through the open roof, then it slid rapidly on the wet ground.

"Hold your fire!" Pax yelled as the Wookiee approached the droids pushing the crate. As Awerl got closer, Pax realised the Wookiee was even taller than the droids.

Awerl pushed the crate into the droid on the right so hard it knocked it over. The other droid on the left swung hard with a fat blaster arm. Dodging the arm, Awerl grabbed it and kicked into the droid's midsection causing the joints to spark as he pulled on the arm. The arm stayed attached despite Awerl's best efforts. Awerl let go of the droid's arm and the droid fell backwards. Both droids were now twisting and writhing trying to get back up.

" _Nyrro uma na ga ahuma ooma!_ " [His arm is not out of socket!]Awerl moaned in a worried voice. As the droids started rolling around trying to get up, Awerl yelled a panicky roar "EGH NA HUA YAAAGH OIN-N!"[I CAN'T BREAK THE DROIDS!]

"Can you pick up the crate?!" Pax asked, then yelled angrily in his heavily accented Shyriiwook " _Oh_ _rogh krehs nar nyrr-ragh_ —Drop the crate on them! _"_

Awerl struggled to pick up the crate, then lifted it over his head with a groan and slammed it down on the first, undamaged, droid. Then he picked it up again and slammed it down on the second droid. The crate lid popped open on the second slam and an assortment of smashed HoloNet parts spilled out.

"Great job Awerl!" Pax said as he walked up to the Koorivar ship and began tinkering with the door panel.

Carver gave Awerl a congratulatory shoulder pat "You show 'em how it's done!"

"Well, that's weird," Driffu said as she picked up one of the HoloNet server pieces, then pulled out a solar panel. "It looks like this thing contained a HoloNet satellite!" she echoed through her gas mask. "Those things are 100 kilos!" she exclaimed as she gazed up Awerl.

"Maybe there are more satellites in the other 'll grab the other crates with the _Jade._ It's gotta look like piracy anyways," Pax said as stuck a probe under the door's keypad. "We're in," he said as the door slid open. " _Jade_ , what's your status. We are going to be finished here in ten minutes."

"We've hit at least 30 Droidekas. They seem to have stopped sending them," Rama replied. "We can be there at a moment's notice."

* * *

The interior of the ship was mostly a clean white. Red floor carpeting with gold-coloured flowery designs stretched down the main hallway.

"Let's just steal their weapons, a couple lights we'll replace, and smash some stuff. We already are loading a few crates on the _Jade_ and can't fit much more. This doesn't need to look like a Galactic Heist," Pax said. "Everyone keep an eye out and be sure to stun any organic lifeforms you find. I will find the security station and wipe their camera memory." He added "don't touch anything without gloves," as he slipped two fingerprint-proof synthetic gloves over his already armoured-gloves. Can't be too careful. "Carver cover the door for us. Also, we need the bugs."

"Got it," Carver said as he handed them a bag full of all sorts of surveillance devices, then turned back and knelt at the top of the ramp, aiming his blaster back at the doorway.

Things were going smoothly until Awerl complained in Shyriiwook that he did not have gloves.

_Of course._ "Here," Pax said taking two giant synthetic gloves he had packed along for the Wookiee. Before the Wookiee could protest, he added, "if you want to smash stuff, you are going to wear these. You can complain all you want but we are not leaving evidence of our presence here."

Awerl put his gloves on. On his arms and legs, his fur now puffed out awkwardly where the gloves and tops of his boots ended.

Pax entered the security monitor room and could see no sign of anyone on the ship other than Driffu, Carver, and Awerl. He wiped the databanks before picking up a chair and smashing every monitor. Pax then stood on the chair and stuck a camera which looked like a toxin detector into the corner of the room.

Maybe he should have told Awerl to cover the door. Pax started entertaining awful thoughts of the Corporate Alliance whacking Awerl with a bounty hunter after finding strands of fur. _This is such a mistake_. Then he thought firmly: _I have to get this scatterbrain under control_.

_Huh_. Pax saw a bunch of poles coming out of a wall. On each pole sat a pointy Koorivar hat clearly designed to sit atop one of their horns. He wondered whether if he stole all of the hats but one, would Passel Argente wear the final hat?

Pax began stuffing Koorivar hat after Koorivar hat into his assault pack. He chuckled to himself as he imagined what one of the idealistic Senators like Bail Organa would think about this. _I am breaking into a private dissident's ship and bugging his clothes. Well, there's a reason why Senator Yarua and Mas Amedda are on the intelligence committee and Senator Organa is not._ Pax reached all the way up the inside final hat and glued in a listening device that looked like a coat button into the tippy top.

"Awerl, do you have the ceiling-mounted lights with cameras in them?" Asked Pax.

_"Uma,"_ Awerl replied.

"Good. Remember to plug them into the circuits when you break the real lights out. We want the lights to work so Passel doesn't have them replaced." Pax always thought it was odd that the Shyriiwook words for 'arm' and 'yes' were identical.

"Cresh team," Rama's voice came through the Pax's earpiece, "we are coming in to pick you up. We have Felucian police lights on the horizon, so eight minutes out, and at least one NR-N99 with anti-aircraft guns."

"Everyone, regroup at point of ingress," Pax ordered.

On his way out, he was passed by Driffu who was swearing angrily under her breath. "AWERL!" she echoed from her Gand mask as if it explained everything.

Pax turned around. _What did Awerl do this time?_ He reached the cockpit.

"Awerl! Stop!" He began furiously slapping the Wookiees shoulder. "Urine has DNA! You are wearing gloves to not leave any DNA and then…. And then… KRIFF!"

Awerl grunted angrily. _"Egh na wyynish wa. Egh—"_ [I am not ready yet. I—]

"—I don't care if you are not ready yet! STOP!" !" Pax felt he was beginning to hyperventilate. "Argh!" he yelled as he pulled a towel out from a closet. "Clean. This. Up."

_"Shyrii-yug oh sha Sherei?"_ [Are you going to tell Cerei?] Awerlasked worriedly.

"No! I am not going to tell Cerei and neither are you. The fact you urinated on the floor of Passel Argente's ship like an untrained Slice Hound is CLASSIFIED! The fact we are here is CLASSIFIED," Pax started feeling like he was going to lose control again.

Awerl began stammering in a downcast growl _"Sharghug,"_ [I am sorry.]

" _—_ Droidekas incoming!" Carver yelled into the channel.

Pax turned and ran as fast as he could towards the entryway of the ship. Awerl stopped cleaning and followed, leaving the mess and the cleaning equipment behind.

_Hopefully, they'll think the droids were cleaning… something… and then left the mess when we attacked_. Pax thought to himself. _Yeah, hopefully, the Wookieee is not on any database, and hopefully, the Corporate Alliance won't whack him with a bounty hunter._

When they reached the entryway, they could see green lasers from the _Jade_ slicing through the Droidekas at the bottom of the ramp. The _Jade_ began hovered lower between the ramp to Passel's ship, and the entrance to the Hangar.

Carver and Driffu led the way down the stairs.

"What took you so long?!" Carver yelled.

"Just cleaning up a mess," Pax said, leaving it at that.

Two Droideka rolled around the _Jade_ , rolling between Carver and Driffu. Driffu shot one while it was unravelling from its ball form and it exploded. Carver missed one shot on the one nearest to him, and the second shot hit its shield.

Carver yelled as he stepped through the Droideka's shield and tried to slice its wires with a dagger. Firing frantically, the droideka landed a shot on his shoulder. "Argh. Blast!" he yelled as he fell backwards.

The Droideka turned to Driffu, but before it could fire, Awerl reached through its shield, grabbed it by the head, and threw it behind him with one arm. The Droideka bounced off the side of the ship sparking in a few places, before landing and collapsing to the ground.

Pax and Driffu each grabbed one of Carver's arms, hoisted him up, and pulled him into the _Jade_.

Two injured today Pax thought. Could be worse… It has not ever been this bad, but it could be worse.


	5. Lir Sey'les

Chapter 5: Sey'les

In Orbit Over Antar 4

CHAOS gripped Antar 4, the Gotal Moon. Shortly after Gotal Assembly Separatists bombed the Republic High Commission building, the Unity Party government asked the Republic for assistance.

Sey'les and two Republic Judicial teams had arrived on the Judicial fleet's flagship, an Acclamator called the _Judicator_ , commanded by Captain Ozzel.

The taskforce left the _Judicator's_ hangar on the three Nu-Class shuttles escorted by two Z-95s. One shuttle carried two Jedi Masters. The Republic hoped the Masters would be able to bring the Gotal Assembly for Separation into negotiations, assuming Extraction Team Muun's mission was a success. The final Nu-Class carried Judicial Hostage Rescue Team Aurek.

Like the other members of Extraction Team Muun, sometimes derisively called 'Extraction Team Midget,' the very shaggy, ashy, black, white and grey-coloured Bothan, Lir Sey'les was short. She had thick head hair in the same colour as her fur, but with less white.

A young, grey furred dark eyed Ardennian male Razal Wulf was the tallest on her team, and her best friend. The team had two Ugnaughts, a male with only a first name, Weequi, and a female Ugnaught named Omgen Nor. Their shortest member, and medic, was a shelled male Chelidae named Peshtan Hashtivar. He had no hair on the top of his head but did sport a thin beard. Their newest member, a Kubaz male named Zeva F'laro, could only speak Bocce and Kubaz, but could understand Basic.

Normally, Extraction Team Muun was given very unusual assignments. Once, they had been placed in a cargo container with six hammocks, a portable shower, observation equipment, and enough food and water for a month while they tried to ascertain whether a certain freighter company was allowing itself to be hijacked by pirates intentionally. Another time, they were ordered to sneak through the sewers of Coronet, Corellia and shoot out through storm drains to give a pair of Jedi cover fire while they captured a crime lord.

For the last seven months however, Extraction Team Muun and Hostage Rescue Team Aurek had been loosely attached to the _Judicator_ , the Judicial fleet's flagship. They would spend most of their time on Coruscant, but also maintain quarters on the _Judicator_ and be ready to deploy at a moment's notice. Most of their deployments had lasted just a few days.

Today, their mission was remarkably simple and did not even require stealth—rendezvous with the Jedi Masters, other Judicials, and the Antar police at their headquarters, then move out and capture the head of the Gotal Assembly for Separation, Senator Leshmeel Zil. This would provide a distraction for the hostage rescue team, and hopefully Leshmeel's successor would be willing to negotiate with the Jedi.

In less time than a Coruscant rotation, Leshmeel Zil had gone from being a local legislator advocating for separation from the Republic, to a local legislator refusing to recognise the results of a referendum. Twelve hours ago, he called for 'revolutionary action,' and a few hours after that, members of his political party bombed the Republic High Commission building.

* * *

Near the exit of the Nu-Class shuttle, team Muun had left the rest of their gear professionally organised, ready to simply be grabbed and taken off the shuttle at a moment's notice. Sey'les and the others wore their dark blue Judicial uniforms. Every team member had left a large pack full of rations and a battle armour vest over the pack in a darker hue than the rest of their uniform, almost black. Atop the packs sat helmets in the same shade as their vests.

However, team Muun were all in the cockpit staring out the front window, in shock at the scene around them. It was around noon time, but the city, Port Semba, was hazier than Coruscant.

"Smoke is reducing the visibility to seven clicks so we can't see the police HQ yet," their pilot Val Sagh explained.

Lina, the human pilot of the Z-95 two clicks in front of the rest of the ships, began giving them preliminary reports of what she saw "This is Yellow Leader reporting. Masters, Agents, local combatants seem to have set fire to debris on the surface roads. I can see local emergency services ground vehicles stuck… air traffic seems unimpeded and there are several Antar Police cruisers patrolling the skies." Then Lina yelled suddenly "BLAST! They just took out a police—"

"We saw that from here!" one of their Jedi Masters, a Gotal female named Mara Tursk replied through the comm. "I would guess the militias have a rail gun of some sorts—I didn't see any blast other than the one coming from that police cruiser."

"Pilots, keep our altitude," ordered their other Jedi Master, an old blue Mon Calamari named Jan-Ca Suldor. "The Antar 4 police headquarters is in the sky anyways so we don't need to get too close to the ground yet. Our objective is to save the lives of the embassy hostages, arrest Leshmeel Zil, and get the people here to stop fighting, not to fight the local pro-Separatist militias."

"Always with these blasted ROEs," Wulf groaned after muting his mic.

"I know you don't like it, and I don't either. We may very well just accidentally set this whole planet ablaze once we grab Leshmeel Zil, but we have to follow orders," Sey'les said.

"What's the point of bringing in an Acclamator if we aren't going to bring the firepower to bear?" Omgen asked in her Ugnaught squeak.

Before Sey'les could speculate, the Temba police headquarters slowly emerged into view through the smoke. It was hanging in the atmosphere suspended from a massive skyhook. The towering black structure was connected to the surface with a turbolift, and a wider structure came from the roof of the headquarters all the way into space. A series of structures suspended from the Skyhook continued higher and higher all the way into space. The police headquarters was the lowest structure to the ground."

"Are we sure that Skyhook is gonna be safe from all the fighting on the ground?" asked Hashtivar, the Chelidae, speaking for the first time since they left the _Judicator_.

"Those things are protected by an electromagnetic shield. Even if the militias managed to punch a hole in the elevator under it, it is really being hung from space. It would take a total power loss and failure of backup generators to bring something like that down," Sey'les replied reassuringly.

"All Republic vessels land in Hangar 16," Suldor's Mon Calamari voice came over the comms.

* * *

The interior of the Antar police headquarters, which Sey'les learned was simply called 'Skyhook 1,' did not feel like any spaceship or space station she had ever been on. Rather than the a highly functional, sturdy, and practical air about it, the interior of Skyhook 1 was elaborate; decorated with marble pillars and yellow carpets. There were paintings of long-dead leaders on many walls. She supposed this could not possibly be the case in Skyhook 1's prison cells several thousand meters above, in the stratosphere.

First came a long and completely out of place 'thank you for coming' speech by the Antar System Minister of Defence, Viri Max. The two Jedi were now briefing the mixed crowd of Republic Judicials, Republic Security pilots, and the huge diverse crowd that was the Antar Federal Police Force. Roughly half of the Antar police were Gotals, many were Koorivars and human, three or four were Gossams, and there were two Trandoshans, a Rodian, and a Sullustan.

All of the Judicials had heard the briefing before and had read operation outlines, but Sey'les supposed the Antar Federal Police probably had not.

"Riot patrols, already present on the ground, will need to hold the crowds off from Temba Hospital," Suldor said his calm voice.

"You all, my fellow Antarians, will be the bulk of this operation—" Tursk started in her Gotal voice.

"—meaning stand around and watch our sixes," Wulf snickered in a whisper, "ow!"

Sey'les jabbed her elbow between two of the Ardennian's left arms.

"Do you have anything to add, Agent Wulf?" the Mon Calamari master suddenly asked, pausing the entire briefing.

Wulf looked flabbergasted and panicked.

Thinking strategically, the Bothan realised that she had an opportunity to pull positive attention to herself and put others on other teams the spot.

"Wulf was just saying that we in team Muun are gonna kick some asses!" Sey'les said in her rallying voice she used whenever she needed to rile up cops, mercs, or soldiers in a crowd. "TEAM AUREK! Are you going to kick some ass?!" she yelled in the direction of Hostage Rescue Team Aurek, shifting attention to them.

Savit, a Coruscanti, blonde-haired human and leader of Team Aurek, shook his head as if waking up then yelled "HOOOAH!" suddenly in a startled voice. The rest of his team yelled "HOOOAH!".

"HOW ABOUT THE ANTAR FEDS? Are you guys ready to kick some traitorous ass?!"

A loud but very confused "Hooah!" came from the crowd as if they had never said that before—far less enthusiastic than Team Aurek's, but from a much larger group.

The entire room was now a sea of excited chatter. _That got 'em pumped! Wulf owes me big time!_ she thought, quite pleased with herself. _We all know what we need to do anyways_.

Sey'les was particularly unashamed, even for a Bothan, and very competent at getting attention and using attention strategically. Even negative attention, she always thought, still made her superiors think of her. Most of her superiors were not intelligent enough to see through it and tolerated her excited outbursts of enthusiasm as a disruptive, but beneficial element for morale.

The Gotal Jedi, Tursk, raised her hand and waved it as if casting a spell. She said, in a calm deliberate voice, "You will pay attention to this briefing. This briefing is very important and listening to mine and Master Suldor's voices is very important for you, for the success of our mission, and most importantly, for your safety."

Sey'les suddenly felt relaxed. Nothing else in the universe was more important than this. As she paid attention more, she realised a few details had changed since she was last briefed. One squad of Antar Federal Police Special Response Teams would be joining team Muun on their Nu-Class and would deploy with them. Suldor would also deploy with them and he would be taking a combat correspondent with him.

She was too focused on Tursk and Suldor's voices to even noticed how focused every Antar cop and Republic Judicial in the room was. She was so focused that she only scowled slightly after Suldor explained they would be taking a 'combat correspondent' along.

After five minutes, something felt wrong with her eyes. She began getting suspicious.

A minute later, Suldor looked a bit worried, and before talking again, commanded in his, now soothing, Mon Calamari voice "paying attention is important, but the mammals out there, you need to blink," then smiled a bit with a relieved look. He interrupted Tursk as she began speaking again "—Ardennians! You are mammals and Koorivar, so are you. Humans, you are most definitely mammals! Blink please. All mammals, you want to blink while paying attention."

Ah, that's better! Sey'les thought _._ She knew Bothans were mammals and started blinking on the first was the problem with this briefing! _I am a mammal and I need to blink while I absorb all of this very important information. If I do not blink, my eyes will get dry._

* * *

"So, we all know who we are meeting with?" Sey'les asked.

_"Keezx forsk SR Zeva i va deeza._ " [Yes, meet with SR 7 in the hangar,] F'laro, their Kubaz answered in Bocce.

"We are meeting with SR team 7 in… 19 minutes," Weequi answered.

"Great!" Sey'les said enthusiastically.

"So, we have a bit of time to eat," Hashtivar said.

She could smell the sea-weedy smell of the sea-bar Hashtivar was eating.

"Rogue," Sey'les said in a growl, grabbing her backpack looking for food.

"Sey'les! You can't just growl 'rogue' in basic! No one says that! This isn't Bothese," Wulf protested.

"Hehe, it is not _rogue_ when you get mad about that Wulf," Om'gen giggled in a squeak. "Besides, she's team leader. She could order us to jury-rig Bothese slang into Basic if she wanted."

Sey'les ignored all of this nonsense. She had not eaten since breakfast and eating on a flight in a combat zone could be messy. Taking off her pack, she started rummaging through it, taking a thermos of fermented Bith beans out, along with a foldable camping spoon. She ignored all of the chatter from her team momentarily, scooped the umami-flavoured, stringy, musky-smelling, fermented beans and took a bite, closing her eyes and focusing on the taste.

She opened her eyes in surprise. It sounded like her team had somehow stopped criticising her Basic and were having a contest of some sort as to who had learned the most from the briefing. _Well, that's weird! My kriffing idiots never cease to amaze me._ Sey'les stopped eating mid chew, listening with renewed interest.

"—I learned that the Antar Minister of Defence's name is Viri Max," Weequi squeaked.

"Well, I learned that Ardennians are mammals and we need to blink." Wulf said deep in thought with his eyes looking up as if trying to gaze into his own eyelids. "You don't need to blink do you F'laro?"

" _Keezx, meez bleeka._ " [Yes, we blink,] F'laro replied.

"Oh, you guys have lids under those goggles!? Kubaz are mammals!" Wulf started saying in an alarmed voice. "I thought you were insectoid!"

F'laro started looking a bit angry and said " _Nokeezx_. _Meez nokeezx insekta._ " _No. We are not insectoids._

SR Team 7 approached the six Judiciaries. A scaly red Trandoshan in an Antar police uniform stepped forward who stood a meter taller than Sey'les. He hissed "Greetingsss, I am Lieutenant Hrelduussk, this is Corporal Paige," a human female bowed, "thisss is Sergeant Sybo," a Gossam female bowed, "Sergeant Stachi," a Koorivar male bowed, "and Sergeantsss Nikta and Telbar," two Gotals bowed.

Instead of introducing himself, Wulf proclaimed, in a knowing voice, "you are not a mammal Lieutenant Hrelduussk, so you do not need to blink as much as I do."

"I know, I learned all about it in the briefing," Hrelduussk hissed in an angry sarcastic tone, looking down disdainfully at the group of short sentients in Republic Judicial uniforms before him.

Sey'les put her spoon into the can of Bith beans and stuck out her hand professionally for a handshake.

"This is Agent Wulf. Haha," Sey'les's fur swirled with embarrassment. She laughed to cover up how embarrassed she was with Wulf. "I am Agent Sey'les team leader, and these are Agents F'laro, Weequi, Omgen, and Hashtivar."

Hrelduussk stooped down to reach her hand and shook it.

They walked together to the hangar in a large group. Two voices were already coming from the ship. Their Nu-Class transport had two floors, the top of which had the cockpit and four folding seats for passengers, and the bottom had over a dozen folding seats and served as the preparation area before commencing a ground assault. As they got closer to the ship, Sey'les could hear what sounded like an interview:

"So Master, what my viewers saw back there was you and Master Tursk coercing Agents of—" a female voice started with an accusation.

"—I was only making them pay attention," Suldor said. "It is fortunate that such tactics work on the weak-minded," he added while chuckling arrogantly.

"Many of the viewers will be wondering, is it ethical for Jedi to use such tactics on public servants?"

"Yes, in this circumstance lives are at stake. I am helping to keep these Agents and law enforcement officers alive."

"The… to use your term Master Jedi, 'weak-minded' Agents and Antar police forces?" the female voice continued, in a more interrogative tone.

Hrelduussk entered the ship first and stormed upstairs first with loud footsteps. Sey'les could hear him hissing angrily "Massster, my team are like zombies. Next time—"

"—My apologies Lieutenant," Suldor said. "It was the fault of two of our own restless ones, the flight from Coruscant was very long," he added, as if talking about children instead of Agents of the Republic.

"Well, it seems, not everyone in the audience was so 'weak-minded' Master, Hrelduussk looks quite upset," the female human voice said in a very observational tone.

Sey'les could see them up the stairs in the entryway. A lot of things made her very suspicious but all she could focus on now was this uninvited journalist: a young dark-skinned human female with curly hair. She wore a light blue combat helmet with a camera on her head, a vest, armoured kneepads, armoured elbow pads, and brown and white clothing underneath it. On her shoulder was circular patch that said, **"CORE MEDIA."** The human looked like a complete dork in all of that gear. Sey'les imagined she was very vulnerable to being messed with and grinned slightly.

Hrelduussk was now trying to speak with her.

"Oh, how rude of me! I am Clahra Fair with Core Media," she said sticking out her hand to shake Hrelduussk's. Hrelduussk didn't take it.

"None of what you saw can air until after we capture Sssenator Zil," Hrelduussk hissed sternly to the journalist. "I can't believe Suldor let you watch our briefing, if the Assembly sees it, it could get us all killed, yourssself included."

"Of course, it won't air until tomorrow when Suldor and Tursk make their press announcement and the Gotal Assembly is under control. Lieutenant what do you think about Master Suldor's briefing tactics?" Clahra asked.

"I think that the present Massster Jedi should, respectfully, go it alone if he thinks we meatheads are so blasted stupid. Ressspectfully Master Suldor, the next time you think to use such 'briefing tacticsss' on my people, you could ask us non-Force users how we get our people to pay attention. As an alternative, you could kriffing shove your ugly, fat, salty, blue Mon Calamari fin straight up your kriffing—"

"LIEUTENANT!" Master Suldor yelled. He took a deep breath. "Let's have a change of topic," Suldor suggested as Sey'les and the others arrived. "I know you are all under a lot of stress and feeling a great deal of fear and anger. The two of us can discuss this further later."

Sey'les wondered what they were arguing about but had her own bone to pick with Suldor. "Master, we did not discuss a Core Media reporter coming along with us," she growled the moment she climbed into the ship.

"Agent Sey'les, it is an honour to finally meet you, the Judicial Department's only Bothan team leader," Clahra Fair smiled glowingly. "I have heard… just…" Clahra paused awkwardly looking as if she were holding back a laugh "so many things about you!"

Sey'les sniffed the air twice in suspicion, trying to get a smell of where Clahra has been, and then shook Clahra's hand. Most of what Sey'les smelt was burning rubber, musky human, Gotal, and Koorivar, slimy-humid Trandoshan and Gossam, and salty-humid Mon Calamari; nothing definitive. The burning rubber was probably from the garbage fires on Antar 4's surface, and Mon Calamaris— _yikes they stink, but that's not news_.

"Agent, Clahra Fair is a lifelong friend of mine," Suldor said, adding "I trust her with my life. The citizens on Coruscant, Alderaan, and even living in Bothan space need to see the work we are doing out here Sey'les. Given the fact we are arresting a politician, it is also good to have the media here to broadcast exactly what happened from a first-person account for transperancy. We don't want conspiracy theories floating around, nor for the media to rely on—," Suldor looked down, now directly into Sey'les's eyes "—Bothan Spynet rumours. She has agreed to follow all of my instructions and the team leader's instructions, meaning yourself."

Suspicious thoughts about Suldor flooded Sey'les's mind. _Does Suldor know I've typed up profiles on Jedi for the Spynet?_ Then, further suspicious thoughts flooded her mind about Suldor's companion. _Clahra must have screwed Suldor_ , Sey'les thought suddenly. _And now he is bringing her along._ _BLAST_ _._

"If you don't want to answer my questions and need space, that's totally fine!" Clahra said to all of the newcomers. "It will be like I wasn't even here," she said, giving everyone a beaming smile.

"I'll answer some of your questions if you answer some of mine," Sey'les said with a vicious smile flashing all of her pointy fangs.

"We can do this later, interviewer mode: off, combat correspondent mode: on," Suldor said jokingly.

Clahra fake-giggled.

_They definitely had sex,_ Sey'les thought even more certainly. _Snap out of it! Who cares if that fat Jedi squid is getting some?_ Her more serious persona began suggesting things aloud in her head aloud, a chattering of voices arguing with each other _._ Sey'les swallowed making the lump in her throat go away. _Focus. Suldor is here to help. Clahra's presence is unexpected, but I can still do my job._

Sey'les took a breath and put on her attention-grabbing persona, ignoring the red camera light coming from Clahra's helmet angled right at her. "All right! Strap in everyone, journalists and Jedi Masters included. None of you are immune from turbulence or crashing. We have a short flight ahead of us, but militias on the surface are firing at ships in some areas. The Jedi suggested the situation on the ground is fluid. It may be a bumpier ride this time than it was on the way down." She then faced the group Antar Special Response police, "We need to prepare for a hot entrance, so helmets on."

"Agreed," Hrelduussk said assertively, already having taken a seat right next to Suldor. He began directing the Antar police to put on their helmets.

It was clear to Sey'les that Hrelduussk was wondering who was second in command after Suldor: was he second in command or was she _?_ An insignificant matter that the Jedi had never quite made clear.

One group of ships started taking off and heading in the direction of Temba Hospital. Their Nu-Class took off in the opposite direction with an escort of three KSE Antar police cruisers.

"There are many scared people on the ground out there doing what they can to survive. Use lethal firepower only on my command," Suldor ordered.

Clahra began loudly narrating their journey, referring to it first as "an unusual mission of mercy," and then later "our mission of mercy."

_Mercy?_ Sey'les thought. _Such a weird human concept._ _How is arresting an insurgent an example of mercy?_


	6. Jazal

Aboard the _Agarath_

Miralukas were much better at sensing organic matter than inorganic. Typically, she would be fairly certain about the location of all of the furnishings in her room, and could feel the presence of the walls, but not much beyond. In a forest, swamp, or jungle she could sense the life force of everything in every direction, but in inorganic environments were another matter. The only exceptions she had encountered were Kyber and Kohlen crystals.

When reaching out to individuals with the force, she could sense their pain and whether they were in danger, like any other Jedi, at a great distance. However, this sense was not the same sense as her Miralukan sixth sense. When reaching out to someone at a distance, she could feel their pain, sorrow, or joy, but could not sense their presence, their muscles, their blood, their bones, in the same way as when they were close.

Jazal hung her head sadly. She still felt cloudy headed after the impact. Averross's behaviour and the way he carried himself surprised her.

Averross had seemed very shaken by what had happened at first, confused and just giving whatever orders had come to mind.

Yet, since the moment Jazal suggested they handle the boarders themselves, Averross was more energised and excited than she had ever seen him. He seemed smarter too, and sometimes his suggestions would even surprise her.

The main way down to the torpedo room was a very large turbolift—large enough to carry torpedoes and other equipment. Averross however had shut it down. "That way, Droidekas won't be able to get out, and Battle droids are easy to take down," he had reasoned to her. Droideka could not climb stairs after all, so he was right.

Jazal realised that one of the reasons she was feeling terrible was the way Averross did not seem to care that much about losing six crewmembers. This bothered her even more than the deaths themselves. When she reached out to him, the only impression she felt was a renewed sense of purpose. Typically, Jedi suppressed their sadness, but Jazal had never met a Jedi who was so excited by catastrophe. He was looking with eagerness to whatever awaited them in the torpedo bay. Before that point, for the last month, Averross had just been bored.

As Jazal thought more about Averross, she had realised one major philosophical similarity she shared with Averross, is that she also did not really believe in the moral absolutism of the Jedi Code. Living away from any Jedi Temple for years would do that. The years of programming from childhood would just wear off. Even if a Jedi thought the code itself was a relic, they still had to conduct themselves as if they obeyed it. Living in and around a building with thousands of beings, many of whom were downright telepathic, eliminated the possibility for developing romantic attachments except for those with the most guarded minds.

Once when delving through the genetic records of every Jedi who lived in the last thousand years, Jazal had discovered that a little over 47% of Jedi today had at least one recent ancestor who was a Jedi. This necessarily implied that many Jedi were reproducing; not only rare exceptions to the rule such as Jedi from endangered species being formally allowed to get into a relationship and reproduce—Jedi were reproducing, whether intentionally or on accident. The phenomenon was far larger than that scandal over a decade ago where Arrath Tarrex was exposed as the son of Master Yula Braylon.

Jazal buried these results when she found this. The implications could cause problems herself and over 4,700 Jedi currently serving the Republic. She thought, however, that other educated Jedi like herself had also discovered this to be the case, at least once or twice in the last 1,000 years and also buried it.

The two Jedi the steep staircase to the torpedo room, with Averross climbing first. Averross was climbing below her.

Jazal sensed vague danger but could not yet feel the presence of the droids when she reached out, only—she shuddered—the dead torpedo and turbolaser crew. She could sense some of the surfaces of walls and equipment which had the crew's blood on it, but nothing else down there inorganic... yet.

"The firs' thing these droids are gonna do is try and hack the turbolift," Averross whispered. "That's where we need to go first. Gotta contain this before it gets out of hand."

"I have never fought a Droideka before," Jazal admitted. "What should I expect?"

"Deflectin' their blasts will protect you but won't kill them. Those things have shields that protect them from blasters and faster moving slugs," Averross explained. "T' kill them, you gotta get real close and hit them directly, if possible. Sometimes, liftin' 'em up with the force and flingin' em works using a one-handed Soresu. Worked for me once. Don't be afraid. Centre yourself, and don't panic. Runnin' will get you shot from behind."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Averross reached the bottom of the staircase and stepped quietly from the last step.

Jazal waited for him to clear, then stepped down herself. "I can sense the bodies of the crew in that direction," she pointed the opposite direction they were walking, "but can't sense the droids," she added in a whisper.

Averross walked to the right down a wide corridor, slowly and quietly. Jazal followed.

"You can sense bodies? Creepy," Averross whispered.

"Only if they still have vital cells," she explained, ignoring Averross's insensitive tone. "If the cells are latent or dormant, I can't sense them until they are reanimated. If they are necrotic, corroded, or burned, I can't sense them any better than I can inorganic things."

"In plain Basic?" Averross whispered.

"I can sense dead people, plants, and animals if they still have large amounts of cells that are alive, and not hibernating," she whispered impatiently then explained, "even if they are dead by a certain definition, they still have cells that are alive. I can't sense tiny things though, such as cells, just the larger blobs the cells combine to make."

"Oh, okay."

Averross came to a halt.

Jazal could hear whirring electric noises and sensed several metallic figures ahead of her. Unlike organics, where she could sense their living internal components, sensing a droid was a bit like sensing a box. Unless she opened it or got very close, she had only a vague idea what was inside, but could sense the overall shape.

"This will take forever," one droid said.

"Roger," several more replied.

_First, who programmed those things to be impatient? Second, why would anyone do that?_ She wondered to herself.

A huge one hunched over, cutting the door to the turbolift with a blade, made robotic noises in a machine language Jazal could not understand.

"Let's crash this party," Averross muttered and ignited his lightsaber.

Jazal ignited hers. Jazal could not sense colour but everyone had always told her that hers was a lighter blue. It was never entirely clear to her what 'darker' shades entailed. Sometimes when people described things as dark, they described a dimmer colour, but other times, they described a more intensely contrasting one. She had only ever experienced memories of eyesight when she used a mind-probe on other sentients.

Averross force-pushed the group of droids on the right hard into the wall, gathering them close together before slicing all of the standing ones all at once, then methodically cutting the remaining ones while they lay on the ground. A few of them gave robotic yells.

Jazal tried doing the same to her group but could not get them bunched together like Averross did. She swung her saber through the first four, then two larger mantis-like figures began firing at her. She deflected the shots back at them to no effect. _Droidekas,_ she thought.

Averross force-pushed the Droidekas into the wall and Jazal ran at them cutting them to pieces wildly in front of her. One of the battle droids on the ground grabbed her leg and she swung down hacking through its chest, accidentally cutting some of the deck plating.

"Alrighty, that was the easy part. Now, we gotta destroy those ships and make sure they never report that two Jedi just whacked their boarding party."

"With all external communications jammed, would their ships know the boarding droids were destroyed?" Jazal asked.

"My guess is no. I am not an engineer though so I dunno for sure," Aveross answered. "The two ships are both down the other way, follow me."

"Master—"

"—Stop callin' me Master. You're a damn Jedi Knight. I ain't Yoda or Obi-Wan and I don't expect anyone but Padawans or non-Jedi to call me 'Master' Jazal."

"Sorry Averross, you should have told me weeks ago," she sighed.

"It's okay."

As time went on, the presence of the dead crewmembers was becoming fainter to her. No doubt, as their masses of cells died off without being replicated.

When they reached the torpedo bay, Jazal sensed two hatches jutting through melted wall. There were no droids in front of them. She could sense the walls on all sides of her, the stairwell down the hallway behind her, but she could sense nothing behind the hatches.

"Alright, take the one on the left first," Averross ordered, "I will get the one on the right."

Jazal ignited her blade again and turned to Averross. Once she sensed Averross moving his saber to slice through his hatch, she began slicing through hers. Closer to the hatch, she could start sensing more beyond as the hatch melted.

"Uh oh," a droid voice said.

She stepped to the right side as a hail of blasterfire blew the hatch away from inside. Averross had already entered his hatch and she could hear blasterfire and yelling droids from the opening.

She reached out with the force to the metal figures inside with blasters—four of them, spindly little things with heads that felt like triangles. Yanking hard with the force, she pulled them all into the wall, and stepped inside.

"Hey Averross, I am in!" she yelled. "I do not know what to do. What's the plan?"

"Wait a sec," Averross replied gruffly, "I'll turn off mine's transponder."

Jazal waited. She had absolutely no idea how to do that. None of the screens in the droid HMP gunship were made by Shadowsync and if she felt them with her hands or the force, all she would feel was flat screen. In the other HMP, she could sense Averross was haunched over, moving his arms and fingers.

"Got it, on my way over."

Averross walked past her and lingered at the front for a moment doing the same thing on the terminal in her HMP. "Okay, we should contact the bridge…"

They both exited the through the breach where the HMP's hatch used to be. Averross pressed a wall panel. "Bridge?"

"Yes," an unfamiliar voice answered. Probably Drega's substitute while he recovered in sickbay.

"Lower the jammin' signal, the droid ships aren't sending anything out anymore," Averross ordered.

"Done."

"You are gonna want to go to sickbay yourself Jazal."

She could sense Averross was pointing at her face that had been smacked by her own Shadowsync Datapad.

"You're right. Will you be okay on the bridge for now?"

"Should be okay. Just need to get the _Jade_ back and cut these HMPs loose if we can."


	7. Zuro Pax

Felucia

Blaster fire flew all around the _Jade_ as it lifted off. Fojo was now tending to Carver's injury.

Pax could see Carver grimacing and struggling not to moan. Fojo yelled "Keep the _Jade_ steady please," over the cacophony of noises.

"I'll try but we are now taking fire from tanks!" Rama yelled back, "Lifting her up as smoothly as I can. We should be safe once we reach 2,000 meters.

Pax looked out the hatch window and could see two NR-N99 tanks shooting up at them. Their shots seemed to be missing by quite a margin, but sometimes the ship would shudder when a shot passed by 10 meters away.

Compared to Carver, Oc'nel did not seem to care as much about looking tough and was somehow moaning louder despite the injuries to his snout. _At least this probably means Oc'nel isn't going to slip into a coma_ , Pax thought. It's been 30 minutes and he's still conscious.

"What's their status?!" Pax asked louder than he intended. Everything was now much quieter as they lifted to a higher altitude.

"As I said before, I cannot tell if anything has happened with Oc'nel's brain. I have him stable though and the Bacta is already healing his ribs and snout a little bit. I think he'll probably need more extensive treatment though. His eye is going to be a bit trickier. My guess is he will be fine, but might have some scarring, and might need a new eye," he turned back to Carver and squeezed some more bacta into his shoulder "Carver's shoulder got toasted. He'll be alright but it might take a few weeks for him to get his mobility in his arm and shoulder back, and he might need a cybernetic replacement for joint."

"I would rather pass on that option, doc," Carver said.

"You wouldn't even notice—" Fojo started.

"Extraction Team?" Averross voice came through the channel a few seconds before they cleared Felucia's atmosphere. "We can do a status update later, long story short we got boarded but the lady and me handled it. We have two droid gunboats who punched through our nose, and a loose net between them and the ship—"

"—A net?!" the co-pilot Pran interrupted with a question.

"—Yep, a net. We lost several people when the net impacted the ship including all of our gunnery crew. Are you bein' followed?" Averross asked.

"No sir, we've been hit by ground forces and anti-air, but they hadn't scrambled any fighters. None are on radar so far."

"A Corporate Alliance frigate just jumped into the edge of the system and released thirty or forty droid fighters. They'll be here in 20 minutes, and you are 17 minutes out, so if you can go any faster, get goin'."

"Understood," Rama said "Pran, set the aft boosters to maximum. They'll overheat the structure eventually, but we should be fine for thirty second intervals. Thirty seconds on, one minute off."

"Copy that," Pran said.

The entire ship was now shaking. Pax held onto his jump seat handles. Each boost would make the ship shake and rattle for thirty seconds, then they would have one minute of normal thrust, then another thirty seconds of booster. After a few minutes, the rear of the _Jade's_ interior began feeling warmer.

"Is that supposed to be happening?" Driffu asked.

Pax turned around and could see the rear bulkhead starting to glow slightly in a tiny dot in the centre.

"We've shaved four minutes. Pran, we don't need any more booster I reckon," Rama said.

"Alright, I'll hold off on the booster," Pran replied. "We should be there in two minutes."

"The commerce guild ship is hailing everyone on a general frequency," Rama said urgently.

"Let's hear it," Pax replied.

"Unknown ship," a Muun accent announced. "This is Admiral Ningo of the Commerce Guild. Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded. Do not initiate docking procedures with the smaller craft. They have stolen Commerce Guild and Corporate Alliance property and assaulted some of our personnel and droids."

"Admiral?" Pax asked. "the Commerce Guild ships are getting really military."

"Rama, Pran," Carver said, "Get yourselves up to the bridge as soon as you've docked. Creating a hyperspace window to accommodate all of ourselves and the junk attached to our hull is gettin' trickier than we thought, any help would be appreciated. Drega's in the sickbay."

"Master, we'll be there in less than 2 minutes now."

Outside of the window, Pax could see dozens of small dark blotches with an engine glow irradiating around them in a halo. A larger ship, shaped like a big Besh from the front, was close behind the fighters.

As the _Jade_ neared the _Agarath_ , the Muun gave a last warning in an angrier tone "Unknown ship, cease docking procedures at once or we will fire. You have five seconds to comply!"

Suddenly, twenty or thirty yellow flashes could be seen in the distance.

"They've fired dozens of torpedoes!" Rama yelled. "The torpedoes… they're definitely moving faster than the ships, but I don't have an ETA yet."

Thirty seconds later, the _Jade_ flew into the _Agarath_ 's sole hangar. The pilot and copilot scrambled out as fast as they could and ran to the turbolift, leaving Pax, Driffu, Fojo, and Awerl to tend to the wounded. The grey hangar was mostly empty except for _the Jade_ , some cargo-haulers, and one repair platform.

Awerl helped Carver walk, supporting him by his good shoulder, while Pax and Fojo carried Oc'nel on a stretcher. When the empty turbolift returned, they took it.

Not being able to see how far the torpedoes were while in the middle of the ship was nerve-wracking. Moving Oc'nel more quickly, exerting effort, made Pax feel like he was doing something useful. It was obvious intellectually that this effort would have no effect on whether the ship would escape before the torpedoes impacted but the action of running felt like it was getting something done.

"Pax, could we slow down?" Fojo gasped, completely out of breath. Carver was nearly collapsing and Awerl was practically pulling him up. Driffu was far away down the hallway struggling to keep up.

"Yes, uh—" Pax gasped and closed his eyes as he felt the ship tremble. It was not a torpedo impact, but the _Agarath_ jumping to hyperspace.

"Phew! I thought we were dead for sure!" Pax admitted.

" _Grrrrrrrrgaahga,_ " Awerl agreed.

"No reason to," Fojo gasped a deep breath, "sprint."

"Well, we just have 20 meters to go. Let's get them to sickbay," Pax said the latter half in a tone that was clear it was an order.

Fojo, perspiring heavily now, reluctantly picked up his half of Oc'nel's stretcher and started staggering forward.


	8. Itoll Oc'nel

Aboard the _Agarath_

"Oc'nel, if you can hear me, this is going to hurt a bit," the ship's 2-1B Surgical Droid DN-67 said in a reassuring voice as he unravelled Oc'nel's bandages.

Oc'nel groaned, hoping that the Fojo and DN-67 knew he could hear them. His body felt like it was overheating.

"It does not look like Oc'nel ever lost consciousness," DN-67 told Fojo.

"He doesn't even have a concussion?!" Fojo asked surprise.

"No, it does not appear that way. Most of the impact went into his snout and left eye socket. The scans show fractures all the points of impact, and his snout is broken in two places. Several teeth are missing including all of his left premolars. He will definitely require dental implants—I only have human ones in this sickbay. We will be able to see whether or not he has ocular nerve damage after some time in the tube."

Oc'nel moved his tongue curiously to the left side of his mouth. He shuddered in pain as his tongue touched several open craters where teeth used to be. He moved his tongue to the front and felt his left canine was still there. He blinked in as they unwrapped his right eye. As his eye adjusted to the lights, things seemed normal. Fojo and DN-67 were staring down at him. As they pulled the bandages on his snout, he could feel sharp pain as some of his fur was tugged and scabs broke.

"Before we put you in the Bacta, we need to splint this," DN-67 said adding "hold still," as the droid pressed hard on both sides of Oc'nel's snout with his cold metal claws.

Oc'nel grunted in pain and could feel his right eye watering. _Blast this hurts._

"Fojo, could you retrieve the Bacta-safe bandages to hold his snout shape? This is going to be tricky."

"Yep," Fojo said "found 'em. We need to be very careful as we remove the bandages from his broken eye. I didn't see any Aqueous Humour, but the resonance imaging shows his socket is cracked…"

"Indeed, Fojo, I am programmed with the medical knowledge of thousands of species," DN-67 replied in an arrogant robotic voice. He added in an accusatory tone, "You did not put any of the adhesives on his eye, did you?!"

"Of course not!" Fojo said.

"Good," DN-67 said as he wrapped these transparent bandages around Oc'nel's snout. "Oc'nel, hold still please. These are to hold your snout in place while it heals in the Bacta."

Oc'nel could hear a Jassk's Aqualish voice suddenly. "Uh… Ugh… my head… what—" She sounded like she was waking.

"Fojo, could you finish this? Hold his snout in place," DN-67 asked.

"Yeah, I gotcha," Fojo said as he put his hand on the top of the bandage. He hissed "Yikes Oc'nel, that Koorivar really screwed you up…"

Oc'nel was not really paying attention anymore to Fojo but was listening in on the voices out of view. He tried looking to the right but could not see, nor could he turn his head with Fojo holding him still.

"I am told you were thrown across the bridge when the ship hit a net. You suffered a minor concussion and were unconscious when they brought you here," DN-67 explained to her.

"The ship hit a net?! Are… Till and Drega alright?" Jassk enquired.

"I'm over here, the ship didn't hit a net. We were hit _by a net_ ," Drega said in a groan. He added in a downcast voice, "Till didn't make it _._ "

Oc'nel could hear sobbing now and began wondering himself how bad the ship had been hit.

"How many others died?" Jassk asked.

"Counting Till, we lost six including all five of our gunnery crew," Drega explained. "The net hit the gunnery and torpedo compartment directly, right below the bridge. Half of engineering and security was injured, but mostly bruises. One of the engineers lost both her right arm and right leg… she's floating in the first Bacta tube, next to Carver."

Fojo piped up adding details of planetary injuries "Carver got shot by a Droideka, and a Koorivar stepped on Oc'nel's face."

"Carver is floating in the other tube…" the male voice explained.

"Oc'nel's going in next once we tighten up his snout," Fojo added.

"Why aren't you going in?" the female voice asked.

"Oh, one of my wrists is broken but it's a hairline fracture. Most of the damage is just my hands… they got cut up by the console when I held my hands out. The doc says—"

"—that you will heal just fine and have limited arm mobility for a few weeks, but don't need to be inundated from head to toe in bacta," DN-67 interrupted. "That's quite enough excitement for Jassk. You need to relax Jassk, and apply this cold pack to your head."

Oc'nel realised he could not move his jaw at all now.

"Stop squirming, this needs to be tight or you might end up looking like a Kubaz," Fojo grunted in frustration.

Oc'nel realised he was still gripping the sides of his bed and had been since DN-67 started messing with his snout. He let go and started motioning for a datapad.

**"How long?"** he typed the moment one was placed in his hand.

"Uh, you've been awake the entire time Oc'nel?" Fojo said.

" _No, how long in the tube?"_

"Seven hours," DN-67 replied as he squeezed next to the bed, gently edging Fojo out of the way to the left. DN-67 put his three-fingered metal claw onto Oc'nel's face and started prying the bandage off from his left eye.

Oc'nel groaned in pain and his right eye was blinded with tears.

"Fojo, let's pull his bed over to the crane."

As Oc'nel blinked the tears out of his functional eye, he could feel his bed moving and see the lights rolling by.

"Okay, one, two, three," the droid said as he and Fojo grabbed Oc'nel by one shoulder. Fojo was panting, quickly getting out of breath.

_Fojo really needs to work out more,_ Oc'nel thought. He probably would have told Fojo this to his face if his snout wasn't taped shut. _Rodian! Work out more!_ _Wait a second… I can stand…_ Oc'nel then stood up.

Fojo breathed a sigh of relief.

Oc'nel felt extremely dizzy and started tipping over.

"STEADY HIM!" DN-67 said alarmed. "I may have neglected to mention, his left ear-drum may be damaged too."

Oc'nel felt a metal swing tapping the backs of his legs and sat into it. He looked around the room and could see maybe a dozen beings on stretchers. Two tubes away, floating around in the Bacta, was a Zabrak woman with an arm, a leg, and two stumps. Carver was in the nearest tube. Oc'nel grabbed the Bacta-headset next to him.

"Okay, Oc'nel, can you lift your arms?" DN-67 said.

Fojo and DN-67 removed Oc'nel's shirt which tugged at a scabby spot on his chest. He winced as he felt a now familiar tearing of fur and scab.

Oc'nel balanced on the chair awkwardly with his hand, unzipped his trousers, and took them off without being prompted. He had never been in Bacta before but was familiar with the routine.

"You can use the headsets if you want, but only in your right ear," DN-67 explained. "We should let your left ear be exposed to Bacta. One channel is 5 hours of news looping, the last burst we got from the Core while on Felucia. It is probably a day old. The other channels are Felucian music we downloaded in the last burst in orbit of Felucia."

Oc'nel put the headset on crookedly so it only covered his right ear and sat down again. He was being hoisted higher and higher on the platform with Fojo and DN-67 standing next to him.

DN-67 placed an awkwardly small nose respirator on which fit perfectly onto the end of his snout covering only his nose. "Breathe," DN-67 ordered as he tightened a strap behind Oc'nel's head. "Does your snout feel taped tightly Bothan? I know it might make you feel over-heated, but we can't have you drowning."

Oc'nel nodded.

Breathing deeply through his nose, Oc'nel could feel a little bit of extra energy from the highly oxygenated gas.

Fojo felt Oc'nel's snout gently, checking his snout for any spots where Bacta might slip in. "It feels like it's on tight enough."

The chair was hoisted off the platform, and Oc'nel realised, as he sat in the chair, the platform was a sort of lift, and the chair was on a crane connected to the lift. The crane slowly plopped Oc'nel into the Bacta. Oc'nel's fur was standing on end with panic as he expected it to be cold, but instead the Bacta was so warm it was almost unpleasant. It did not hurt his eyes, but he could see nothing but blue blurriness. He tried blinking his right eye in vain to get better sight. His left eyelid was not responding, but the area hurt when he tried blinking.

Oc'nel could feel the chair tipping him out and he sunk to the bottom of the Bacta and had a brief moment of panic and forgot to breathe through his nose and tried grabbing his snout.

"Breathe through your nose! Don't you dare touch your snout restraints!" DN-67's commanding voice echoed into his right ear.

He started breathing deeply and let go of his snout.

* * *

Oc'nel awoke in the bacta. It could not have been more than 7 hours as he was still in it, yet he felt oddly rested.

The hot Bacta was beginning to feel unpleasant. In a spa or hot body of water, if he needed to cool down, it was possible for him to life his head above the water. The Bacta tube was a different story. No matter how much he wanted to lift his head above the surface, he was stuck; sunk to the bottom of the tube until DN-67 or Fojo decided to lift him out. Every instinct told him to lift his face out but there was no out. To make matters worse, his snout was shut which made him extra uncomfortable.

Oc'nel began fumbling with his headset which had formed a water-tight seal over his right ear. He pressed a button that made a louder beeping sound if he pressed on it from the left, and a quieter beeping sound if he pressed the right side of the button. That must be volume. He pressed another button and heard singing in Huttese. Oc'nel could speak Bothese, Basic, Bocce, and Shyriiwook, but not any of the languages from Hutt space. Generally, when they needed to communicate with in a language from Hutt space, Fojo did the talking, or they used a translator droid. The other button switched to news.

A male news anchor was speaking in either a Corellian or Outer Rim accent, Oc'nel thought more likely Corellian. "—seen many times before on Carida," the anchor paused finishing a story. "It seemed like everything on Antar 4 was going to calm down, but now, the future of Antar 4 is in question today after the Gotal Assembly for Separation announced today that it will not recognise the results of the Referendum. Despite high turnout of over 80% of the moon's population, and over 71% of voters rejecting the articles of Separation, the Gotal Assembly is blaming their defeat on voter disenfranchisement. Reporting exclusively for Core Media on the ground now we have Clahra Fair reporting to you."

"Thank you Lahnsam," a female voice with a Coruscanti accent replied. Loud protests could be heard in the background. "I am reporting now from the Antar Parliament and I have with me Ssam Sharp of the Unity Party, Ssam what do you have to say?"

"The Gotal Assembly are sssore losers," a Trandoshan accent replied in a hiss. "If the Gotal Assembly does not accept defeat, they are doing all of their constituentsss and all Antarians are serious disservice. The conssstitution does not provide any provisions for ignoring resultsss of a referendum and moreover—"

"—and what is the Unity Party going to do moving forward?"

"We are going to continue working with the Republic to weather this crisisss," Ssam continued hissing away.

"I agree with my colleague Ssam here," a posh Core-sounding but deep male Gotal voice interrupted. "Democracy does not work political parties are unwilling to accept defeat, and in the event of election losses, a peaceful transition of power. The majority of voters know what benefits being in a larger Galactic community bring us, from no trade barriers, to education, even food standards." The Gotal now sounded increasingly like he wanted to turn his answer into a campaign speech.

"What do you say to those who insist that the Republic has grown too large to represent the wishes of systems? What about the thousands of Republic planets without direct representation, represented by some other planet?"

"There is certainly room for reform," the Gotal equivocated. "While we in the Unity Party believe remaining in the Republic is the best option for all of our Gotals, Trandoshans, Gossams, Koorivar, humans, and other species who make Antar 4 home, I would never suggest that there wasn't room for improvement."

An explosion interrupted the feed. Emergency sirens could now be heard from police speeders and ambulances.

"I am getting reports," Clahra Fair's voice said urgently, "We need to move. We are getting reports that the Republic High Commission building was just bombed. The police are clearing the area in front of Parliament—sir, sir! Do you have any idea what is going on?" she asked someone.

Some gruff voice replied in a language Oc'nel did not know, probably Gotal, he thought.

"Alright, Clahra, we are cutting the feed. Stay safe out there!" the male anchor said.

"Thank you! I will catch a speeder to Skyhook 1 and recommence a broadcast when it is safe," Clahra replied in a panty breath that sounded like she was now running.

"Now to Blair Fenston, for our currency news."

"Alright, thank you Lahnsam," an Alderaanian accent answered "I hope Clahra stays safe out there—"

"—me too."

_Hmmm Fenston is competing awfully hard to seem like he cares more than Lahnsam_ , Oc'nel thought with bored suspicion. If he were not submerged in Bacta with nothing to do, he would not have cared.

"The Republic Credit is sliding in value against most currencies. A run on the banks on Arkanis is spreading to neighbouring systems and many vendors are now only accepting the Hutt Peggat. The Miraluka Credit, Kuat Drive Yards Scrip, and most other Republic currencies pegged to the Republic Credit are also sliding in value. We can see here that the amount of credits it takes to buy a number of commodities and resources is going up."

On this audio-only broadcast, Oc'nel could not see the chart he imagined the anchor must be pointing to.

The economic anchor continued, "the Senate's effort to ban Separatist Credits has completely backfired. There is now a rising black market for Separatist Credits on Antar 4, Mon Cala, Eriadu, and many resource extracting worlds like Bespin."

Worrying deeply about the state of the galaxy at large Oc'nel wondered what the Senate was thinking. _Banning anything, from drugs, to commodities, to currency, often triggers a black market and an increase in its value. What would happen to us if the Credit collapsed completely?_

He realised he had not been paying attention to what they were saying from some time. They had switched to another correspondent who mentioned Dac, and her voice was clearly distorted by water.

"The Dac police have still found no sign of Queen Lonaz Kalina, wife of the ruler of Mon Cala, King Yos Kalina. They are now operating under the assumption that she has been taken offworld—"

"—Remind our viewers of the tense situation currently unfolding on Mon Cala," interjected the male voice, Lahnsam.

"Well, as many of you know," the reporter replied, "the Quarren minority formally seceded from the Senate last week. The current King of Mon Cala, Yos Kalina, has seceded from the Republic but pledges neutrality. Yesterday, several royal bodyguards were killed by Quarren insurgents and Queen Lonaz Kalina was abducted, Master Proko, a Quarren, is leading the investigation. Oh! Here he is arriving back in police headquarters right now!" she said suddenly in an extremely excited voice. "Master Qid Proko! Do you have any—"

"I am not a Master! I am just a knight—"

Oc'nel thought _that Jedi is being obtuse. Plenty of non-Jedi call any non-Padawans 'Master.'_

"—well, do you have any updates for our viewers!" the anchor interrupted impatiently.

"It is not the policy of the Jedi, the Dac police, or the Republic Judicial Department to comment on ongoing investigations. Of course, with the exception of press briefings. You will be given more information at the next briefing in fifteen minutes," Qid Proko sounded pleased with himself as he calmly dropped this bombshell statement.

"Fifteen minutes!" The correspondent yelled in shock.

_Qid Proko must really hate journalists_ , Oc'nel thought to himself.

"Yes, we are holding an emergency briefing, right in the press room over there. All of the local press was informed." Qid Proko sounded even more content with himself.

"I'll be at the briefing then."

"I expect you would…" the Quarren's voice sounded very impatient.

"Well viewers, Qid Proko and the Dac police will be briefing us very soon. They must have some serious updates for this to be happening," the correspondent yelled over a huge commotion of bubbly underwater voices. "We'll switch back to the studio in the meantime."

"Alrighty," Lahnsam's voice sounded awkward and nervous. He was clearly improvising. "We are grateful to have Ex-Senator Tikkes who just called in from Murkhana at the announcement for a press release. We will do a short interview with him on the Dac crisis Bear in mind, at his distance in the Outer Rim, what he says will have a 30 second delay." An awkward pause followed with no sound at all. "Do we have him? Is he—?"

"—Thank you for having me on the show Lahnsam," a Quarren voice interrupted. "What I am calling about today is that, while I support the Separatists, I think we all need to take a step back and calm before this cycle of violence gets out of hand."

Lahnsam waited a few seconds. "Well some people are suggesting that _you_ Mr. Tikkes are responsible for, at the least the violence currently breaking out in Dac, and some are suggesting that you are behind the abduction of the Queen. What do you have to say for yourself? How do you explain your statements and actions to our Core Media viewers?"

After about 40 seconds of silence Tikkes responded, "we in the Separatist Senate vehemently denounce the violence in the streets on Dac and Antar 4, violence, I remind you, from both sides. The notion that I abducted, ordered the abduction, or was in any way directly connected with the abduction of our Queen is absurd! I am not surprised that Core Media is repeating such ridiculous conspiracies."

Tikkes then yelled so loudly and so suddenly that it startled Oc'nel and made him wince while he was floating in the Bacta, unable to remove his headset without flooding his ears.

"SHAME ON YOU LAHNSAM! IT IS SHAMELESS ACCUSATIONS LIKE THIS WHICH ARE MAKING US IN THE OUTER RIM FED UP WITH YOUR CORE WORLD LIES AND CORE WORLD MEDIA!"

Towards the end of Tikkes' rant, Oc'nel could hear the Quarren's mouth tentacles flapping as he bellowed. He relaxed a bit as the yelling ended and exhaled in relief through his nose.

"Well, uh…." Lahnsam was quiet for about 30 seconds, muttering incomprehensibly to staff. "Well, it seems Tikkes has dropped the call," he finally said.

Oc'nel heard the bubbly water-disrupted voices again. It sounded like crowd murmur at this point, but Oc'nel presume the Dac press conference would be starting any moment.

After a few minutes of crowd murmur Oc'nel wondered why they did not just cut to commercials.

Eventually, Qid Proko's voice spoke. "I would like to thank the Dac police force for help in this operation, and I would like to thank all concerned Mon Calamari and Quarren for their tips and advice in this investigation. An hour ago, we informed the palace of King Yos Kalina that we had located Queen Kalina's body. Queen Kalina is dead," Proko continued over the loud gasps of the crowd. "This was clearly an act of homicide—"

Oc'nel took off his headset. _What a catastrophe! What are the Jedi thinking letting a Quarren give a press conference about the death of the Mon Calamari Queen?_ He could not deal with listening to news like this anymore. With nothing to do, he slunk back to the bottom of the tube and tried sitting on the ground and sleeping again.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, Oc'nel could hear a loud splash over his head. He felt a metal seat gently disturbing the liquid and brushing up against him. He sat on it and felt himself being hoisted up. The instant his head cleared the water, something was not right. Something seemed very dark and hazy. Oc'nel closed his left eye, and it seemed to go away. _Damn_.

"So, you don't look like a Kubaz," Fojo yawned, guiding Oc'nel's seat onto the lift.

When his seat reached the ground, Fojo began unwrapping his snout. Pax entered the room, looking like he had just woken up. Most of the beds were now empty and DN-67 was assembling a wide array of charts in front of a bed.

"How is he doc?" To Oc'nel's annoyance, Pax was asking about him in the third person before his snout had been unwrapped.

"He's—"

"—the patient is."

Both Fojo and DN-67 started talking at once, cutting each other off.

"—never use 'doc' in a medical facility," DN-67 interjected in a robotic teaching tone.

"—something's wrong with my eye." Oc'nel blurted out the second the final layer around his snout was undone. He paused, holding his tongue between his canines. Moving his own jaw to speak for the first time in hours after it had been bandaged tight felt weird—he was suddenly aware of his tongue and jaw movements. He felt his face nervously.

"That is what we were going to run tests on," DN-67 said as he motioned towards a group of charts.

"My right eye is fine but when I open my left eye, I see this dark spot in the centre of my vision," Oc'nel opened his left eye again to test it, this time closing his right.

"Calm down," Fojo said reassuringly.

"Oc'nel, come over here and sit," DN-67 said sternly.

Oc'nel took a sickbay gown Fojo was holding, put in on, then walked over to the bed DN-67 was standing near. DN-67 started with the typical read-the-Aurebesh test on his right eye. Oc'nel felt everything was normal there. He was beginning to feel impatient, which for him, was a rare occurrence.

"Can't you just scan my left eye?" he asked.

"I was about to," DN-67 replied while lowering this massive scope. A bright light shined on Oc'nel's face.

"Open your eyes, both of them."

Oc'nel obeyed and saw the dark blob obscuring the centre of his field of vision.

DN-67 started hooking electrodes to his head. "Your eye seems fine enough… What exactly do you see?"

"A dark blob. Things get progressively darker until the very centre, I can see… nothing."

"Hmmm…" DN-67 said.

DN-67 and Fojo turned to the monitors. Pax walked up to them too.

"The scans show your optical nerve is damaged. I was afraid of this."

"What's my prognosis?" Oc'nel asked, starting to feel increasing dread.

"Since your Scotoma—that's the name for it… let me test one more thing Oc'nel, you are rushing me!" DN-67 said sounding surprisingly upset for a droid. DN-67 turned up the brightness.

"Close your right eye," he commanded. "Did your left eye's vision improve?"

"Nope, my periphery got a bit brighter, but the darkness in the centre did not change." Oc'nel said while sighing.

"You seem to have nerve damage. They could grow you a new eye, but it would be useless because that is not the problem. There are some growth stimulation and stem cell regiments being developed which have proven promising on some humanoids in regrowing nerve cells. Since you still have some sensation however, connecting an artificial eye to your brain would be trivial."

Oc'nel considered that for a moment. He had met some people and cyborgs with artificial eyes, some of them quite life-like. "Could you do that here?"

"No, unfortunately I cannot do that here. You will need to get that done when you arrive back on Coruscant," DN-67 said before picking something up. "Since this Scotoma is obstructing your right eye's vision too because your brain does not seem to be compensating, here—"

DN-67 put a something over Oc'nel's left eye and tightened a band around his head. Fojo held up a mirror. The band did not feel very uncomfortable to Oc'nel, but he was worried what this might look like.

Oc'nel looked into the mirror and saw his face. He was missing a ring of fur on his snout where it had broken. Some of his bare skin looked a bit bruised. The bacta had healed his skin but had not regrown his fur. Now, over his bad left eye was a silly-looking white eyepatch. It looked like something from a human child's costume set.

"You look quite distinguished if I daresay!" DN-67 said in a cheerful voice.

"Wouldn't a bandage be better?" Oc'nel asked while manipulating the white eyepatch with his fingers.

"Certainly not. Agent Oc'nel! This eye patch is waterproof," DN-67 said in an almost offended tone.

Oc'nel sighed then turned back to the tubes. Carver and the female engineer he did not know were both in their bacta tubes still. "How are they doing?" he asked.

"Scans show Jom Carver is healing a bit slower than I would have thought. Bria Reyl is due to be removed, but she will have… quite the recovery ahead of her Oc'nel," DN-67 answered.

"All right," Oc'nel sighed. "I want to take a shower. The Bacta smell is driving me crazy, is there anything special I need to do with my eye?"

"No," DN-67 said simply. "Your eyepatch is waterproof so you can take it off or leave it on."

"We are a little shorthanded Oc'nel," Pax said sternly. "I suggest taking a very quick shower. Averross might need you."

"Okay, well, I guess I will see you on the bridge Pax and Fojo," Oc'nel said as he headed to his quarters.


	9. Lir Sey'les

Antar 4

As their Nu-Class continued flying over the fires of Temba Port, Sey'les began feeling more and more uneasy. Master Suldor seemed to have faith that everything was going to go to plan. Most of the taskforce was strapped into crash seats in the staging area below. Sey'les, Hrelduussk, Suldor, and Clahra were seated in the cockpit jump seats behind the pilot and copilot. Clahra and Suldor continued having animated conversations, while Clahra occasionally took a break start her documentary narrations again.

"Master Jedi," Sey'les finally asked "why do you think this mission will go exactly according to plan, and that it will be easier than scraping murra-worms out of the mud?"

"I felt it," he said simply.

"Care to elaborate?" Clahra said with her red camera light now pointing in Suldor's direction.

"Well, I had a force vision of the Senator agreeing to surrender, and then of Agents Sey'les and Wulf bringing back the Senator in cuffs, with all of her Agents and I behind her, and Hrelduussk and his forces following."

Hrelduussk hissed something inaudible and very angry sounding.

"A… a dream?!" Sey'les asked alarmed.

Clahra seemed to be well-versed in such matters "But Master, I thought you said—" then Clahra paused clearly avoiding saying something she was not meant to. "I thought most Jedi believed visions were unreliable at best, and some even believe them to be a dark side power?" It was both a question and a statement.

“That is true. When I finished my Padawan Trials, before you were born Clahra, there were only five Jedi who openly believed in the prophecies: Master Averross, the now deceased Masters Sifo-Dyas, Kostana, and Qui-Gon, and Master Dooku. All outcasts for it. When Obi-Wan became Qui-Gon’s Padawan years later, even he doubted prophecies. There was even a mission where Yoda put Obi-Wan—Padawan at the time—in charge of Qui-Gon and Rael Averross because he felt their judgment was so clouded by Force visions that they could not be trusted.” Suldor took a deep breath. “Yoda’s scepticism was ultimately one of the reasons Dooku left the order, and one of the reasons Sifo-Dyas was viewed as so strange. I have always been a secret believer in prophecies myself and have experienced numerous ones which came true,” he added with an arrogant chuckle.

Sey’les involuntarily held her snout agape in shock at this news. She turned open-mouthed to Hrelduussk. With a groan, he had buried his face in his own claws, groaning.

“In the last ten years, the Council has come to accept Master Obi-Wan, and he became a believer in the Chosen One Prophecy. It seems Master Yoda also believes it, but Mace Windu is more sceptical, or at least… more worried about Anakin than the rest.”

_The intel for this mission was this old Mon Calamari’s dreams!_ Sey’les could not decide whether this was terrifying, hilarious, terrifyingly hilarious, or hilariously terrifying.

_The intel for this mission was this old Mon Calamari's dreams!_ Sey'les could not decide whether this was terrifying, hilarious, terrifyingly hilarious, or hilariously terrifying.

"Really?!" Clahra asked excitedly, "Obviously, I don't have space for this in my documentary, and it is totally 100% off-topic! But would you be willing to discuss possibly doing a Jedi prophecy documentary with me? Could maybe visit the Bogan collection you told—I have heard about?"

"Perhaps we can discuss this further tomorrow evening after the reception of the _Judicator_. I have ensured that you are invited."

"Oh! Thank you so much! Do you think I could get an interview with Master Yoda?! I would love to ask him about his change of heart regarding prophecies!" she asked in an excited whisper.

"Um, well, Master Yoda doesn't do interviews. While Yoda meets with individual Senators, he has never even made a public appearance before the Senate floor. I am sorry Clahra, but that won't be possible even if I could move the heavens. There is simply nothing I or you can do that will change that."

"But you can get me into the Bogan collection?!"

"Maybe." Suldor said cautiously, "even asking about the Bogan collection is a major taboo."

"I don't know about any collective of Bogans, but I don't think you are Grand Master Yoda's type Clahra," Sey'les said, laughing out of control.

"Agent Sey'les!" Suldor said angrily, "I would be surprised if anyone of your station but you, or a member of your out of control team, made such crass comments!"

"It's okay," Hrelduussk said with a hissy laugh, "the Master Jedi prophesied that you specifically will be a part of the Senator's arrest. He won't fire—It's the Observer Paradox!" Hrelduussk began laughing so hard he could no longer speak and was struggling to breathe. After taking a deep breath, he elaborated, "hahaha! Master Suldor won't fire you because it might upset the Force. It's the observer paradox you see!"

Sey'les did not understand what Hrelduussk was talking about but laughed along in a nervous and slightly curious _what are we laughing at_ tone. Before Sey'les could open her mouth to ask what the observer paradox was, she felt a strong pressure on her snout.

"MMMM!" both Hrelduussk and Sey'les gave terrified muffled yelps, their jaws suddenly forced shut.

"Now you two bullies, you two— _snouted_ _predators_ may think you are strong. Your bean-sized carnivore brains may be telling you that we are the perfect objects of your bullying, but your natural strength pales in comparison to the strength of the Force! I may be an old man, but the Force is my ally, and a powerful ally it is."

_BLAST! That escalated! Is this crazy Jedi going to kill me?! He can't do that!_ Sey'les thought in terror.

"And Lieutenant Hrelduussk, you are right, I won't get Agent Sey'les fired, nor will I complain to your chain of command, nor note in this in an after-action report. You and Sey'les would also be wise to never note in this your reports. It is not because Clahra and I have a, shall we say, after hours correspondence, or because I want to prove prophecies right. If anyone ever finds out about this, anyone finds out about how immatureand crassyou two are, you will be fired or discharged, or at the very least demoted. If the Jedi ever find out about this, I will be put away in rehab for a month or so until I 'see the error of my ways,' and get better at controlling my temper. Now, I will release your snouts and hopefully we can go back to being colleagues, and hopefully—we'll I shall leave it at that, and Clahra and I will see what happens next."

"Well," Sey'les gulped, panting hard, "that escalated fast!"

"Grahh… indeed," Hrelduussk hissed, taking in huge breaths.

“We should do a biology documentary on predators like Bothans, Trandoshans, and Wookiees—it’s fascinating really,” Suldor said with a smirk. “As a convergent evolution, they all regulate their heat through their mouths. Thus, if their mouths are closed, things can feel quite uncomfortable for them. Not usually lethal mind you, but deeply uncomfortable.” He added in yet another arrogant chuckle, raising a fin sporting scars in the shape of a Bothan bite pattern. “When visiting one of the moons of Bothawui in particular, a muzzle can be quite handy.”

Clahra looked at his scar with an impressed grin.

Sey'les could see the larger scars from the Bothan canines, with exactly 11 tooth marks on each side of the scar.

"Bothans… we're predators, but are omnivores," Sey'les panted letting her perspiration drip from her tongue. "Most of the clans who colonised worlds or moons where farm animals are impractical are completely vegetarian. Since moving to Coruscant, I have become quite fond of Bith beans myself."

Suldor looked at her quizzically, but not apologetic at all for his prejudice.

"I am sorry about the joke though Clahra," Sey'les added, feeling ashamed. _Suldor may be a scumbag, but Clahra doesn't deserve that,_ she thought.

"Me too," Hrelduussk added.

"Apology—apologies, accepted," Clahra said brightly as if Suldor had presented Sey'les and Hrelduussk to her as a gift. She was now looking at Suldor even more impressed.

After no one said anything for a minute, Sey'les started feeling safer and was no longer in fight or flight mode. Hrelduussk seemed calmer too.

Sey'les opened her mouth, "You know? I don't know why but knowing for certain that you and Suldor are going at it somehow makes it a lot easier for me to accept your presence here Clahra."

Sey'les turned to Hrelduussk and noticed his jaw was dropped in shock and his big Trandoshan eyes were fearful, Clahra was looking embarrassed. Sey'les began panicking. "I mean—the secretiveness and uh—secret hypocrisy was annoying me a bit, but now that I understand your place here—" then she blurted out "I'm so sorry Clahra!"

Embarrassment was still flushed across Clahra's face. Suldor did not look angry, but this time, even more puzzled with one eye more closed than the other.

"It's all right," the old Mon Calamari said in a sad voice, "I know I am a hypocrite in a position of power over you and that upsets you. I also know you are being honest and speaking from the heart, not trying to make Clahra or I feel bad." Then he added, in his most superior-sounding tone yet, "It is part of a social predator's nature to view everything as a pack. Knowing how everyone fits in, especially a new party like Clahra, must be comforting."

"You jussst have all of us so figured out," Hrelduussk hissed with angry sarcasm even Sey'les caught, then he turned to her. "Sey'les," Hrelduussk hissed "you know, you are good at public ssspeaking and getting attention, inspiring people, making people feel less afraid, and I am sure you are a good shot with blaster, but you really are 'weak-minded.' I thought you got us both killed a second ago. I warn you, if either you or that weak-minded Ardennian friend of yours get me killed, I swear… I ssswear, I will devour both of your souls in the Eternal Beyond… ssslowly."

Sey'les gulped in terror.

Suldor and Clahra each started laughing. Sey'les did not understand how Clahra and Suldor could share an in-joke with Hrelduussk. They had only all just met.

"While I don't have the ability to read your mind without performing a Force Probe, I can quite easily ascertain a Bothan's suspicions and feelings. It is one of the universe's greatest ironies that this is possible, and because of it, I am certain that the Force has a sense of humour."

Sey'les's fur swirled suspiciously as she stared at Suldor's scar.

"No, those Bothan bite marks were not from a time when I copulated with one of your kind," Suldor snorted. "Rather, while I was a wandering Jedi Knight, a Bothan tried to eat me when I was backpacking on Bothawui-6. He gave me that same evil toothy face you gave Clahra earlier and, then, well… he gobbled up my fin until I stuck my lightsaber through his head."

Sey'les gulped nervously again. "I am sorry I tried intimidating—"

"—That's all right," Suldor said cutting her off.

Sey'les thought of what Suldor had said, and then decided to ask something on her mind upfront but her words failed her: "Do you… did you use the Force to… to—"

"—no, I have never used the Force to copulate, ever whatever in the blazes that entails," Suldor snapped.

Sey'les paused and looked around thinking about Suldor more.

"If you think I am a hypocrite, Agent, there are many other Jedi who are far more fallen than I. If you want to meet the most crooked living Jedi in the whole Galaxy, seek out Master Rael Averross to share a death stick, some snuff, or perhaps a bed with. He is probably at some Brothel somewhere on some outer rim slimeball right as we speak—spending Jedi wages on who knows what, accepting an assignment only once every ten years in his 'very busy' schedule. At least, like you, I work for a living Agent Sey'les!"

Sey'les felt relief wash over her and smiled a little at the 'work for a living' compliment.

"I have two questions Jan-Ca," Clahra said. "First, what do you mean by one of the universe's 'greatest ironies'? I know you Jedi have to be emotionally close with a human to sense our suspicions. What makes Bothans different?"

Suldor chuckled. "It is a great irony because Bothans are known for their deceptiveness and spy-craft, yet, they are forced to be honest thanks to their physiology… Most Bothans can never truly lie nor be deceptive, and in fact, all but the most deceptive Bothans or Bothans with the strongest emotional control, constantly broadcast their feelings no matter how strong-minded they are. Actually, I don't want Bothans to know that I know this," Suldor said while glancing suspiciousy as Sey'les.

Sey'les glared at him. _What could he be going on about?_

Suldor started whispering in Clahra's ear. "You know how Bothans are covered in fur? Well actually…" Suldor stopped whispering as if he knew Sey'les could hear. He wrote something on a datapad and passed secretively it to Clahra.

"Wow! THAT'S AMAZING! Can you teach me how to read that?!" Clahra asked in an awed voice.

"Sure, I suppose. I do have many pictures in my journal that I use for reference," Suldor said thoughtfully as he hit buttons on his datapad. "One would only need eyes to be able to see it. I would want you to keep it a secret though. It wouldn't be fair to Bothans if everyone in the Galaxy knew. In fact, it would have profound implications for the development their entire species and probably destroy parts of the Spynet."

"Sir, could you please tell me? It's really not fair that you two are just gossiping about me and I don't get to know what it is about," Sey'les said in a forced calm.

"No Agent. I am never going to tell you, nor would I ever tell any of your kind," Suldor said sternly. "This is not just about you. I am protecting your species Sey'les," he sighed. "Also, I am sure it would make me a target from some of your more aggressive factions if Bothans knew that I knew."

Sey'les looked down glumly. _Who said my species needs an old fat Mon Calamari's protection!_ She started wondering what Suldor could have possibly figured out from Bothans being 'covered in fur.' _We have fur. It's obvious._

"Second question," Clahra said after Sey'les stopped talking. "This Rael, you've never told me about him," Clahra started suddenly. "Do you think he would be available for an interview?"

Suldor laughed harder than ever, "Rael! You wouldn't want him on your HoloNews Clahra. He dresses far worse than any Alderaanian Nerf Herder. His clothes all have holes! Optimists in the Jedi Order think Rael is following the part of the Jedi Code about possession more strictly than everyone else. I—" Suldor's words were swallowed by laughter. He finally took a deep breath and relaxed. "The reason he dresses like that is because he does not care. He also really won't give you much access. The Master is an outcast!"


	10. Jazal

Aboard the _Agarath_

"DN-67 says that Bothan, Oc'nel has got some partial blindness now. Dunno how bad," Averross said into the comm. Jazal had just woken up to his voice. "Maybe you could talk to him?"

"My entire species lacks eyesight," Jazal groaned into the comm in frustration, lying on her bed. "If a Kaleesh lost his or her sense of Echo Location, would you be a good counsellor for him just because you, born human, never had the ability to echo-locate?"

"Uh, I suppose not."

"Thought so. I will still talk to Oc'nel, I can feel he is troubled. How soon are we due in Rhen Var?" _Why does Averross want me to talk to Oc'nel so much? I really was going to anyways._

"We are gettin' there in 30 minutes. Perhaps you should come to the bridge," Averross said before adding in a tone that implied something was going on, "You've been reachin' out to him… _a lot_."

"I will not dignify that with a response," Jazal said, adding "Master." She hoped his thick skull got the message. _That was stupid_. _I should never say that I won't dignify something with a response, in a response_.

"Jazal, I just wanna say, I don't want any divided loyalties. I know you and Oc'nel screwed. I don't have a problem with Jedi under my command gettin' laid with a subordinate, but emotional atta—"

Jazal pressed the terminate button on her Datapad. 'Screwed'? 'Gettin' laid!?' _Enough of this blasted nonsense! I am not some cantina crawler with whom Averross can just talk,_ she thought. _Just because I go back and talk with someone I had fun with does not mean I have 'divided loyalties.' Blast that hypocrite._

While most other beings would be suspicious, Jazal did not sense that Averross was attracted to her at all.

On the contrary, she sensed that Averross viewed her as fellow traveller in crossing on the edge of being expelled from the Jedi Order—a fellow traveller on the edge of hypocrisy and dishonesty. He must have thought of her as a fellow irresponsible rogue deep down, setting her own rules, doing what she wants, someone he could talk to about the rules for defying the rules.

It was simply the case that Jazal did not view herself that way at all. She certainly violated the Jedi Code and had not believed in much of the Code for years, but, unlike Averross, violating the Jedi Code was not a fun game for her. She was certainly never going to discuss this with himof all Jedi. _No one needs to give that hypocritical spice-head greater justification for breaking the rules—he is an embarrassment to the entire Jedi Order._

After taking a very chilly shower, she set her room's temperature to 30 ºC and meditated. The warm air drying her as she meditated, she thought of her anger and frustration towards Averross, then imagined it falling onto a leaf on a river. She sensed the current carrying it away. _Anger? Check. I can live with the rest of my emotions today_ , she thought to herself.

* * *

Jazal shared the turbolift with Drega on their way to the bridge. "How are the hands feeling?" she asked.

"They're all right ma'am. I got off lucky. DN-67 made me a custom cast. I can move my fingers now. He said I could return to duty but should take it a bit easy and return to sickbay if I experienced any swelling or any of the stitches come undone. How about you?"

Drega was adding much more information than a typical human would.

"Oh, I just had a bit of bruising. DN-67 said it should be gone soon, and I don't feel it anymore," Jazal answered. "Glad you are feeling better."

"Thanks, you too Master," Drega replied.

Jazal was surprised when she realised Lanya, Driffu, and Rama were not just on the bridge but were occupying bridge stations.

"Right Rama, you get some shut-eye," Averross ordered, "Drega, take her spot."

Rama said, "thank you sir," as Drega and her shifted spots.

"Oc'nel and Pax should be able to do somethin,'" Averross said as he seemed to spin around the bridge, trying to find something they could do.

"I don't need to sleep yet," Driffu said, adding "my circadian clock is 71 Coruscant hours."

"She means that she doesn't live on our clock, Averross," Jazal said sensing his confusion.

"I don't need you to explain that," Averross said. Jazal could sense his scowl.

Pax and Oc'nel arrived. She sensed a fabric covering Oc'nel's left eye with a strap around his head.

"Pax, we're nearin' the Rhen Var system so you, me, and Jazal will need to brief them soon. Do you think you are up to it?"

"Very much so sir," Pax said.

"Oc'nel did the doc say you were good for duty? I sense Lanya could use some shut eye."

"Yeah, I could run comms," Oc'nel said as he walked over to the station. Jazal could sense that he felt a bit unsteady.

Jazal sensed Averross was extremely tired, but he would need to be able to brief the Republic listening post in Rhen Var and explain the situation. As Lanya left her post, Jazal felt the ship tremble as it exited hyperspace. Suddenly she sensed fear from everyone, surprise, and heard gasps.

"Is that Rhen Var station?!" Averross said in an alarmed voice.

"I think so, Master," Drega answered.

"I am not getting anything on the comms," Oc'nel said.

Jazal pulled her Shadowsync datapad out of her pocket and moved her hands on the screen to sync it with the main viewer. She could feel a portion of large circle which must be Rhen Var and a cloud of blobs in front of it. Jazal reached out beyond the ship in what she believed was the direction of Rhen Var.

"Scans show—" Drega started.

"—there is no way anyone is alive in that," Driffu interrupted.

"Right Driffu, your opinion is noted." Averross said in a tired and irritated voice. "Maybe someone escaped in a pod, let's get a bit closer to the planet. Jazal I don't sense any danger, do you?"

"No, I don't sense any danger either," Jazal answered truthfully. Whatever had destroyed the station was probably gone.

Averross started making a general announcement, "Rhen Var station looks like it was destroyed. We are going to try a rescue or recovery mission."

"Sir, respectfully, our ship is still covered with a net," Pax said once Averross finished. "We should restore our ability to fight if we are going to remain in the system."

"Okay Pax, do you have anythin' in mind? We don't exactly have a station or externally-trained crew to take the net off, and those HMPs could be good for reverse-engineerin' don't you think?"

"If we remove the nets," Drega added, "we should be able to enable one of our torpedo tubes and two of our turbolasers would have limited field of fire. They would be operational. It should also give us some extra efficiency in Hyperspace."

"Master, I could do it—with help of course," Pax said.

"Are you qualified to wear an extra-vehicular suit?"

"I grew up on an asteroid in the Tessa Belt sir," Pax answered simply.

"How much help do ya need?"

"Well, with three or four people from engineering—"

"—alrighty, well you got… Jazal," Averross said suddenly. "Pax, if you cut holes in the nets the size of the HMPs, Jazal should be able to toss the nets away."

Jazal began protesting, "Averross, I've never been in an environmental suit before. I think it—"

"—You're goin' out there Jazal. I'm not gonna send some half-asleep engineers who may or may not have worn a space suit ever before. You're a Jedi Knight. You can handle this. Pax, keep her safe and explain the basics."

Jazal realised Averross was right. The Council had no doubt stuck her with the Judicial Corps to give her some needed field experience. She did not know why she was so apprehensive.

* * *

Receiving field training from a non-Jedi was weird. Jazal had sat in classes with non-Jedi lecturers for years but all of the hands-on training she had ever gotten was from Jedi. Pax explained things without mentioning fear or any other emotion, mentioning balance, or trying to relate things to Jedi training which he obviously never had. Jazal felt refreshed to finally be told things in a straightforward way _. There is no logical reason that wearing a space suit, building a chair, or using a datapad, should be linked to using the Force,_ she thought.

By this point, Jazal had most of her gear on.

"Okay," Pax said as he approached her, checking all of her gear. "Now we put on the top piece. You should hear a click which means it has been locked in place."

"I don't hear a—oh," she said as it clicked.

"Good. The next stage is the helmet." Pax handed her a helmet. "It clicks into place like the top suit."

Jazal could both sense and feel which side the faceplate of the helmet was on. She slipped it on, so the faceplate was in front. It clicked as she pulled down.

"Okay now, here are your gloves."

Jazal slipped her gloves on and pulled them up to her wrists. They didn't click. "Pax, mine didn't click."

"Oh, these are the under gloves. Here are your outer gloves," he said as he gave her slightly bulkier metal-feeling gloves.

Jazal heard a click each time they connected with the wrists of her EVA.

"Well then, I suppose you are going to have to memorise the buttons," Pax added reassuringly. "We all do in case we lose our sight in space anyways. Most of your buttons are on your left arm because you are in a right-handed suit. The nearest one to your elbow is the comm. There are three buttons on your chest, one of which lower a visor, the other raises it, and the final one—closest to the left—is a retractor button. Press it and it pulls you back. Push it long enough, and you will return to the airlock."

"Return how?"

"We are going out still connected to the ship with cables, push that button and it retracts you back to the airlock. The cables extend automatically a bit like a spiderweb from the rear of your suit," Pax explained.

"So, I just need to worry about the comm and retractor?"

"Correct," Pax said simply. "Also, turn on your visor. Wouldn't want the rays from this sun burning your face."

"Copy," she said, hitting the visor button.

"Oh, there are also three buttons on your right arm I didn't tell you about. You probably won't need them. The one closest to your elbow is for motion sickness, one releases a glue pack which you can use to seal leaks, and the third doesn't do anything on your suit."

Jazal felt all three of those buttons, memorising their positions too.

"You need to remember that what you don't know can kill you," Pax said. "Don't make any assumptions or take any shortcuts when you are starting out. Make sure everything on your suit, lighting—well I guess that doesn't matter in your case, but make sure the air is flowing, and feel all of the joints to make sure they are sealed."

"Okay," Jazal said as she felt her wrists, neck, and mid-section.

"If you don't feel a change in atmospheric pressure, it's not sealed."

"I don't feel a change in—oh!" Jazal said as she suddenly felt her ears pop slightly. She sensed Pax was pressing a button on his boots and heard his left boot stick to the ground with a THWOMP then his right boot.

"Next… I am sorry that I said 'the only buttons,'" Pax apologised. "We have magnetic boots. Turn on your boots by pressing a button over your Achilles tendon. Turn it off with the same button. These will cling to the surface of the floors, walls, ceiling, and most of the exterior of the ship."

Jazal pressed her heel buttons one boot at a time, and each time THWOMP. Lifting her feet was difficult, and when she did, she could feel the magnet pulling back towards the floor.

"Okay Jazal, you need to lift your feet a bit higher. Bend at the knees, step forward and let it stick to the floor."

Jazal did so and no longer felt the magnet pulling to the floor until she was ready to put her foot down and things felt less out of her control.

"So now… follow me." Pax walked forward into an adjacent room.

Jazal followed and a door closed behind her.

"Alright, we are in the airlock. I'll release the atmosphere, but your magnets will hold you to the floor. You ready?" Pax asked.

"I am ready," Jazal said bracing herself. She heard a whirring wind at first, and then silence.

"I am going to step out now, follow me. It may not feel natural, but you can walk on the hull of the ship just fine!" Pax reassured her.

_That is so weird_ , Jazal thought. She could hear Pax's voice through her comm, but no longer from his suit even though he was standing a meter away from her. Pax stepped out confidently and started moving along the hull gracefully, leaping forth with huge deliberate hops.

Jazal felt very much like an amateur. With every step she felt like she was going to fall. Her hair was floating around in her helmet in every direction, tickling her face. She sensed the cable coming out of her suit back into the airlock. In every direction, out as far as she could sense, lifelessness—aside from the Pax and the crew inside.

"All right, we have 150 meters to go," Pax said.

Unless she was in a building, she had always been able to sense a horizon. The lack of one here was extremely disconcerting. "I think I might get sick!" Jazal said, starting to worry.

"Okay, press the motion sickness button I told you about."

Jazal reached for her right arm and felt a needle stab into it as she pressed the button. She gasped in shock.

"Jazal, are you okay?"

"Yeah! Just surprised me is all," she admitted.

As they arrived near the bow, the Duros said "Wait here at the edge of the net, it's floating around everywhere."

"I know. I can sense it." Jazal could sense the outsides of the HMPs and where they neared the hull of the _Agarath_ , they pressed the net closer to it. Further away, the net simply floated in every direction while the _Agarath_ was barely moving. She could hear grinding as Pax took a saw to the netting around the first ship.

"I think I can help," Jazal said as she ignited her lightsaber. Holding it through gloves felt very clumsy.

"Let's not use that. I am worried you might damage the ship. Here," Pax said as he handed her a small device. "It's a portable saw. It might scratch the _Agarath_ a bit, but it won't damage the hull plating."

"Understood," Jazal said as she turned her lightsaber off and put it back into the pouch on her leg. She treaded carefully on the ship, stepping through each hole in the net she could sense. "How do I know how big of a hole to cut?"

"Just around the HMP. If you cut along the edges, it should be enough."

* * *

The _Agarath_ began reversing as soon as Jazal force-threw the net off its bow.

"We have company," she said to Pax suddenly, motioning awkwardly in the direction she sensed the newcomers.

"New mission," Averross's voice suddenly came through their feed. "Oc'nel made contact with the Senate Bureau of Intelligence using an undamaged array on top of the station. They say we can find a working black box inside which they haven't been able to access. They won't be able to get here for at least four hours and want us to investigate."

Four figures moved closer on some sort of speeder contraption, all wearing space suits.

"You are being joined by Higil and another member of his security team, Oc'nel too, and an engineer," Averross informed them.

_Oc'nel! He was in a Bacta tube less than an hour ago!_ "Is Oc'nel well enough to do a space-walk?" Jazal asked.

Averross answered in the comm, "yeah. He says he grew up on a planet without much of an atmosphere, so—"

"—How high is your air?" Pax asked on her other channel.

"Uh," Jazal said as she began to worry. "I can't see it."

"Jazal, you will be in charge of the recovery effort," Averross ordered.

Pax walked up to her, held her arm looking at what she sensed was probably a display, and said "92%, assuming that you breathe at the same rate, we have two hours before your air reaches 50%. I'm at 98% so that means?" he quizzed her.

"That you will have 8 hours before your air reaches 50%. Thank you Pax," Jazal said. _So practical!_ Then she responded to Averross "I am guessing we are riding that thing over there to the wreckage? Also, we need repairs."

"You aren't ridin' that thing all the way to the wreckage. After it gets to your position, it'll dock on the _Agarath_ , and we'll push you closer in a matter of speakin.' For your other concern, yeah, we all need some rest too. We'll come up with a safe spot to make repairs, turn on our official transponder, and rest until we get further orders from the Council."

She switched to a private line with Pax. "Pax, I am nominally in charge, but I have only donned a space suit once in my life, starting 20 minutes ago. I need you to pipe up if I order anything unsafe."

"Sure thing," Pax replied "The Jedi really should get you more Shadowsync-enabled equipment. This is ridiculous."

Jazal could sense that Pax expected this situation but was deeply uncomfortable with it. She did not feel so comfortable with this herself. In this circumstance, the only thing that set her apart from Pax was that she was force sensitive, was probably stronger than him, and could whack things with a laser sword. She had only a rudimentary understanding of getting around in a space suit and could not even read the terminals on her suit.

Jedi were often put into positions such as this one. This behaviour of the Order deeply frustrated her. Just because non-force users were often physically weaker, could not manipulate objects with their minds, and had no force sight, did not make them less wise, less intelligent, or less experienced, or even worse at combat in the right environment.

She thought wryly _I bet if Pax had a blaster and a jet pack out here in the vacuum of space, he could wipe Averross out. Hell, Pax could probably outlast that spice head with mere breath control!_ Jazal stopped herself from chuckling at the thought of Averross running out of air with a death stick in his mouth burning his lips, unable to grasp the death stick through his helmet's visor— _that is not fair_ , she admitted to herself and killed the thought beginning a quick meditation.

"Master Jedi ma'am! I am Agent Higil, chief of security," a male Mon Calamari said loudly into her comm, interrupting Jazal's meditation. "This is Agent Kier one of my deputies, one of the junior engineers Soqes, and Oc'nel. It is an honour to work with you," he gestured to a human female, a Zabrak male, and the Bothan. She sensed Kier felt uncomfortable to be working with a Jedi, Higil was extremely excited, Soqes was excited too. Oc'nel, she could sense, was feeling a wave of relief and relaxation from the low-G, and she could sense he was excited to work with her. Jazal wondered why they force everyone to work in Coruscant-level gravity in space.

The speeder contraption, she now realised was a space platform of some sort, magnetically locked to the hull of the _Agarath_.

"Greetings. Soqes, Oc'nel, we have been acquainted before. Is it just Driffu, Master Averross, and Drega on the bridge?" she asked surprised as she climbed in.

The _Agarath_ started moving towards the wreckage.

"No," the Zabrak, Soqes, said. "Awerl is running ops, and Jassk at the helm now."

"Does Awerl even know how to?" Jazal asked alarmed.

"Well, I… he may be the muscle, but Awerl is a fast learner," Pax said reassuringly.

She sensed Oc'nel bring both of his hands together and then make an odd Trill shape while chuckling derisively.

Pax faced him, held his right hand flat, and slid it horizontally—like a throat-slit motion but far away from his body.

Oc'nel stopped laughing.


	11. Lir Sey'les

Antar 4

"Weapons set to stun!" Sey'les yelled as the Nu-Class descended into a street next to a two-story building. Burnt-out speeders lined both sides of the road. Suldor leapt out of the back and landed on the ground.

Two figures on the ground emerged from behind a burnt-out speeder and began firing on Suldor, but he seemed to be completely ready for them. He deflected a few shots with his green blade, force-lifted the two figures, and then threw them into a wall.

_Maybe he really did foresee that_ , Sey'les thought.

"Rally on me!" Suldor ordered, and everyone ran from the Nu-Class to Suldor's position, including Clahra.

"We are going to face resistance on the first level. Once we clear it and move up to the second, the Senator will surrender to us," Suldor said confidently while gesturing at each floor of the building.

If Hrelduussk had any objections to this, he kept them to himself.

Sey'les had many objections to it but she kept her snout shut. Now on the ground, she could smell the smoke stronger than ever. There was also a faint hint of dispersion gas police would sometimes use to disperse crowds which burned her nostrils.

Suldor led everyone quietly to the building entrance and hunched at the front of the line in breaching position then waved his fin-hand in a circle, signifying to come in close.

_Suldor was really loud. I hope the Assembly fighters did not hear us_ , Sey'les thought. _He is barely even trying to be quiet._

Crouching uncomfortably close to the Mon Calamari, Sey'les edged up to his back, and put one of her hands on it feeling the soft fabric of his cloak. She then felt a hand on her back armour, as is expected, but then… three— _ugh Wulf. Stop screwing around! Suldor is right. I really need to get my team under control_. Before a breach, it was standard practice in the Judical forces to hold your blaster at the low-ready with one hand and touch the back of the being in front with the other hand, that way, the being in front was aware of the being behind's presence, and the being in back knew the being in front was charging forward without any words said.

After everyone got into position, Suldor began quietly cutting a big Mon Calamari-sized hole into the door with his lightsaber. Hrelduusk was on the other side of Suldor holding a concussion detonator in his hand.

The moment Sey'les heard the clang of the lightsaber-cut door falling, she heard a clanging sound from Hrelduussk throwing his concussion detonator. As soon as it went off, Suldor slumped into the room through the hole to the left deflecting blaster fire, Sey'les followed, letting go of Suldor the moment she cleared the door, and then Sey'les turned to the right. Three of Wulf's hands let go of her back armour as she cleared the door.

Two Koorivars were standing in the right-side corner holding their ears. Sey'les shot them with stun shots centre mass. Around the room, blaster fire was ringing and ricocheting off walls.

Five seconds later, Suldor yelled "CLEAR!" and the taskforce started moving forward towards the stairs. Clahra came in last, filming the end of the breach on her camera, crouched in a surprisingly tactical pose.

To Sey'les's complete astonishment, the door at the top of the stairs opened and none other than Senator Leshmeel Zil popped out, holding both hands high.

"I am Senator Leshmeel Zil," he said, "I surrender. Let my people go free."

Sey'les and Wulf ran the stairs while everyone else covered them. Sey'les forced the Senator's hands behind his back and cuffed them, then she yelled what she saw: "there are dozens of Gotals, Korrivars, and Gossams sitting in front of terminals. A few guards here are armed, aiming weapons at me! It looks like they have ships in orbit Master!"

"Get the Senator down here you two!" Suldor ordered.

Wulf and Sey'les obeyed, guiding Zil down the stairs.

Zil yelled "Carry out my wishes!" to the second floor before Sey'les dragged him down.

"You don't get to bellow orders anymore Senator! This wasn't a conditional surrender," Sey'les said in a snarl.

Suldor then gave the most baffling order yet, "Withdraw, pull back to the exit!"

Everyone withdrew extremely confused.

"Master, you aren't going to jussst let them stay up there are you?" Hrelduussk hissed.

"If they have ships then they are a bigger threat than we knew," Paige, the sole human present except for Clahra, added in her objection.

"Master, he yelled orders to them which they will carry out! For all we know they are planning an attack. We need to arrest them or at least disrupt their communications," Sey'les urged.

"Silence," Suldor said with finality. "The Senator agreed to surrender in good faith. Everything is happening exactly as I have foreseen. Everything is happening just as I told you it would Hrelduussk and Sey'les. We are withdrawing."

"But Massster," Hrelduussk hissed in a now fearful tone, "some of us live here. All of the Senator's staff saw us! I fear for the safety of my wife and hatchlings. We would have concealed our faces had you informed us that we were leaving criminals behind."

Many of the Antar police muttered in agreement.

"Those are all logical concerns," Suldor said in a sympathetic tone. "If needed, we can bring your families to Skyhook 1 where they will have the best protection this planet has to offer."

"Master, I have a very bad feeling about this," Sey'les said, "we are gonna be leaving a bigger mess behind than we came here to."

"Bad feeling? Bothan, are you sensitive to the Force now?" Suldor asked. He took a deep breath. "My orders are final. We cannot betray people who surrender to us in good faith. Moreover, my visions are clear. We will all be all right. The Senator will arrive to Skyhook 1 unharmed, and Tursk's diplomacy will be successful. We have the Force as an ally!"

* * *

"Can you… can you hear that beeping?" Sey'les asked everyone on the Nu-Class shuttle.

She received fifteen variations of "no, I don't hear anything."

Master Suldor cut in "Agent Sey'les, relax. Our mission was a success and you are going to be all right. I am sorry if I upset you earlier."

"That's not it Master, I am not afraid or upset. I really do hear beeping—"

"—Well, it is probably just a ship sensor out of alignment or maybe an alarm on the ground," Suldor suggested with an open fin, extending his long blue fingers.

"We aren't detecting any sensor problems," one of the pilots said. "ETA to Skyhook 1 in ten minutes."

"Excellent," Suldor replied.

In the background, Clahra was going over all of the footage she shot. Sey'les could hear the loud bangs and blasterfire coming from her recording.

Their prisoner, Zil, was being remarkably silent. He had not said a single word since he yelled to his followers to carry out his orders. This made Sey'les even more unsettled.

"I'll talk to Minister Viri Max about moving your families up to Skyhook 1 if things deteriorate," Suldor said positively to the sea of glum Antarians, some of whom were staring at Suldor with depressed eyes looking as though he had all but signed their death warrants.

"Master Jedi," the co-pilot said, "we are getting a general transmission from someone claiming to be leading the Gotal Assembly."

"Well, put it through," Suldor said, as optimistic as ever. "They are probably ready to negotiate."

"—these actions are being carried out in response to the murder of Senator Leshmeel Zil, murdered at the hands of the Jedi, Republic Judicial forces and Antar traitors! Effective immediately, I, Kallis Dru, am taking control of the Gotal Assemby."

"Murder? The senator is right there?!" Clahra said alarmed, setting down her helmet camera. "I recorded you all capturing him!"

Hashtivar, the Chelidae medic, began scanning him. "He is definitely a real living Gotal. I suppose we won't be able to get a proper ID until we land. Senator? Do you have an ID of some sort?" Hashtivar asked in a polite tone.

Zil remained silent.

"Don't we have any DNA on him? What type of jacked-up operation are you Republic morons running?!" one of the Gotal Antar police asked in alarm.

Suldor glared at Hrelduussk clearly trying to convey the message: _your people are quite disrespectful, and I don't like it. I am going to complain._

"THE BEEPING! IT'S Zil!" Sey'Les screamed in fear. She uncuffed the Gotal, pulled him out of his seat, and started yanking him towards the exit, handily overpowering him despite her small size, "OPEN THE EXIT!" she ordered.

Someone in the cockpit opened the hatch for her. The wind blew her shaggy fur. Squinting, Sey'les got into position to simply shove the Gotal out the door into the sky without a second thought. The next moment, she felt a force pulling her back from the exit. The Senator was pulled back as well.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND AGENT SEY'LES?!" Suldor yelled. "You are not going to throw the Senator out the window! We just captured him! We don't want to prove their propaganda correct, do we? Calm down Agent," Suldor said confidently, regaining his arrogant Jedi calm. "Where's the beeping?"

"Here!" Sey'les yelled a little quieter this time, then in sheer panic at what she saw next. "Look, now there is a red blinking light below the skin!"

Suldor began rushing towards Sey'les and Zil.

One of the Antar cops screamed "BOMB!"

The situation quickly evolved into terror and pandemonium. Beings were screaming in terror; half of the taskforce began unbuckling from their seats and running towards the cockpit stairs to get as far away from the Senator as they could. Sey'les could hear a Gossam praying to her gods.

Zil was now fighting her. Sey'les kicked his legs and then yelled as he punched her in the snout. She felt a blunt pain on the side of her snout, then made a toothy snarl and head-butted Zil back towards the exit using her helmet.

Suddenly, Suldor pulled her back by the shoulder with one hand and grabbed the Senator by the arm with the other. Suldor tugged Sey'les and she stepped back out of the way. While holding the Senator's arm in place, Suldor let go of Sey'les, then used that hand to ignite his green lightsaber. He sliced through Zil's arm in one swoop before tossing it out the back exit.

The Senator screamed in pain as his arm flew further away, then into the clouds.

A deep loud boom thundered from behind and beneath the ship five seconds later. Whatever it was burned very hot and for several seconds. Sey'les could feel the heat through the air and scrunched up her face. The hot gust of wind felt like a blow dryer.

"MEDIC!" Sey'les screamed and her Chelidae went from running for his life towards the cockpit, to turning around and helping the man he was running from. A few of the Antar police rushed forward as well with first aid kits.

"You were right Sey'les," Suldor muttered, his expression grave and distant. "Somehow, you were right. The Force did not tell me the whole picture."

Sey'les stared into Suldor's eyes. His eyes bore a look of defeat and terror. Sey'les did not understand why. _Events can always go in a way different than expected_ , she thought.

"I don't understand why you are so upset, Master," Sey'les admitted.

"I know you don't understand. You never were going to understand," Suldor replied. "Yet… your instincts were right. You were right."

"Jan-Ca, Jan-Ca do you copy?" a comm on Suldor's belt yelled urgently. It sounded to Sey'les like the voice of Mara Tursk, the other other Jedi.

"Yes Mara, this is Jan-Ca Suldor," Suldor replied.

"Is the Senator alive? Is the Assembly lying?" Tursk's voice was coming loudly enough for anyone near to hear her through Suldor's comm.

"I am not quite sure what is going on, I will need to meditate on it. The Senator is alive but now with one arm fewer than before," Suldor answered, before explaining in a grave tone "The Senator had a bomb in his arm—"

"—a bomb?!"

"Yes, a bomb. I suspect the Senator was willingly implanted with a bomb. My working assumption is that the Assembly assumed he would detonate himself successfully when they made that announcement accusing us of his murder."

"Will the senator make it?" Tursk asked urgently

"Hashtivar? Will the Senator make it?" Suldor asked.

"You seem to have cauterised his wound better than I could have, sir, so that's an affirmative."

"—you don't know whether I have a plan B," the Senator, Zil, said gruffly with a chuckle, speaking for the first time since losing his arm.

"—was that Zil?"

"Yes," Suldor answered into the comm.

Sey'les suddenly had a sinking deep worry. She had heard of bombs being implanted in slaves on Tatooine and Nal Hutta as an escape deterrent, but never of a powerful device being used as a weapon. "Master Suldor?"

"Yes Sey'les?" he asked, looking at her more seriously than he had ever before, as if he actually thought she might say something intelligent.

"What if the hostages Team Aurek rescued have bombs implanted in them too?"

Suldor responded confidently "No, I would have foreseen…" then stopped, suddenly deeply worried. "You're right Sey'les, it is very possible. Mara! I strongly recommend searching the hostages for bombs. Someone implanted one in the Senator likely using hospital technology. The bombs make a noise in a frequency most species cannot here, and they did not show up on our medical scans, only our Bothan could hear it. What gave the Senator's bomb away right before his arm blew was a red light visible beneath the skin! If you have a Bothan on board, get your Bothan to listen!"

"Understood. No Bothans here, unfortunately!" Master Tursk replied in a shrill voice bordering on panic. Sey'les could hear her yelling panicked orders on the other end of the comm: "Savit! Archard! Check them for bombs, don't do a standard check, we need to check their skin. Everyone! You there! Did anyone perform any type of surgery at the hospital on you?"

A human-sounding male voice, perhaps near-human though, replied "No Master Jedi, well... actually it is possible. They knocked us all out at one point."

"Jan-Ca, they all have stiches and scar tissue, some on their torsos! I do not feel comfortable killing the High Commission personnel we just rescued with my lightsaber—"

—a few panicked yells and screams interrupted the Master when she said that.

When the screaming subsided, she continued "We're making an emergency landing in Qatan Park. Informing Skyhook 1 now. No sign of lights under their skin but it may just be that those don't show up until the final arming sequence, or the bombs might be buried too deeply. Meet us here and bring Agent Sey'les!"

"Very well Mara, we are on our way." Suldor said before adding in a fearful croak "May the Force be with you."

"I know you are feeling scared Sey'les and that you did not join the Judicial forces to be a bomb diffuser—"

"—Master, you don't need to order me to help," Sey'les interrupted sternly.


	12. Zuro Pax

In Orbit of Rhen Var

_Of all of the wild things the Jedi had ever done on a Judicial mission, this must be the craziest_ , Pax thought. Jazal put a space suit on for the first time only minutes ago, and now, they are having that Knight lead a team wearing a space suit.

After she told Pax her concerns, Pax knew she thought this was crazy too.

The HX-97 repair platform was thruster powered and very slow. Pax knew they were usually only used for external repairs and were only using it because _the Agarath_ was too big to safely fly through the debris field. If anything went wrong, they could be stranded until the SBI arrived in four or five hours which would probably be a death sentence for most of these heavy breathers.

Pax unhooked the cable connecting his suit to the airlock, pulled out another cable and hooked it to the front of his suit. He held out one for Jazal, and to his surprise, she didn't need any instructions hooking it on. _Must be close enough for her to sense_ , Pax thought.

"Okay," Jazal said. "Averross, are we in position?"

"Yep, it's your show Jazal."

"All right then, let's get over to the portion of the wreckage the SBI directed us to. Pax? Do you think you should take point?"

"That's a good idea," he said, adding "Remember, just because we don't detect any life, does not mean there are no hostiles. Many of the Republic's enemies use droids these days. Be sure to check your corners, keep track of your air, and move slowly. How far into the interior is this black box?"

"About 20 meters past where we are arriving," Higil answered.

Pax thought of something. He set his channel to the private one with Jazal. "Jazal, I suggest we broadcast our suit cameras to the bridge—yet another button I failed to mention, sorry about that."

"It's not an issue anymore Pax. This is complicated equipment. I understand," Jazal whispered.

"You know we're in space so unless they are on our channel, they hear nothing right?"

"Yeah I know intellectually that sound does not travel in space. Sorry Pax, it feels weird," she said in a modal voice, but still quiet as if afraid of the others overhearing.

"That's alright," Pax said. "so, can you sense me?" Pax said, using the word Jazal often uses to describe things she perceives.

"Yes."

"Okay, move your hand up like I'm doing," Pax instructed. "The button is not in the centre of the top of the helmet, but behind the centre."

"Okay, done."

"Alright, now order everyone to do that, and explain to Averross what we are doing."

"One more question Pax. What does that Trill shape Oc'nel made with his hands mean? What did the horizontal movement you made with your hands mean?"

"Oh, that one I did is spacer for _knock it off_. What Oc'nel did is _I don't know about that_ in a disagreement. With the thumbs held like this instead, so a… well more of a sideways Resh, it is a shrug with your hands." Pax answered.

"Fascinating. I can sense your shoulders shrug in your suit, and so could most Jedi. Miralukas would have never needed something like that," Jazal said in awe.

"Yeah, well, we do need to tell everyone to turn on their body cameras." Pax said, trying to get back on topic

"Oh yes!" Jazal replied.

Pax switched back to the general channel.

"Everyone, remember to turn your telemetry on," Jazal said. "Averross, we are turning our telemetry on so you should be able to see us on the bridge."

"Averross stepped out for a second," Drega's voiced replied unexpectedly. "But yeah, I got you all on screen right here at my station. I'll turn on your life sense monitors from here,"

"Wonder why Averross didn't think of that," Oc'nel mumbled into the comm.

"Keep the speculation to a minimum, Oc'nel," she ordered.

"Sorry Master Jedi," Oc'nel croaked in a tone that sounded like he was worried he may be struck by lightning.

Pax sighed.

The debris field thickened as they came nearer to the coordinates of the black box. A bolt came out of nowhere and hit the side of Pax's helmet. An armour plate with a Republic insignia scraped the side of the HX-97 silently. Pax started changing channels to the private comm but didn't need to.

"Higil! Slow us down," Jazal ordered.

"Sorry Mast—"

"—just call me Jazal, and it's fine."

Pax thought that Higil may be qualified to fly that thing, hell, he may have donned a space suit before, but he was every bit a stranger out here as Jazal—Kier and Soqes probably were too. If you grew up in an atmosphere—or even worse, _underwater_ , conservation of momentum was never anything more than theory; water or air slowed everything down with friction. Movement forward took effort and constant work. In space it was a totally different reality and newbies out here had a tendency to apply way too much thrust.

Pax imagined how far Higil would go forward with one push off a wall in Dac City versus outer space. In space, Higil would keep going until he collided with something or got caught in the gravity of something—tens of thousands of clicks, maybe entire lightyears. Of course, he would never survive the millions of years it could take to get that far. In Dac City? He might even float up to the surface.

The density of debris increased further and now Pax could hear constant clanging from a slow torrent of bolts, plates, wires, and even tiny bits of glass. He held out his arm in front of his helmet. _Well, I need to be the pilot,_ he thought.

Suddenly, right before he was about to yell at Higil in the channel, all of the impacts stopped. Pax looked up and saw a cloud of debris parting allowing the platform through. A canal had formed through the debris field, all the way to crater-pocked wreckage of the station's command module.

Pax knew it was Jazal's doing before he turned around and saw for himself.

Oc'nel made a long groaning deep Bothan "Whoa..."

"DAMN JAZAL!" Soqes said extremely excited.

"Good thinking Jazal," Pax said.

"Impressive." Kier said in a neutral tone.

"Yeah that is impressive work Master Jed—Jazal," Higil added.

The platform slowed down in front of a crater-pocked section of the station and slid slowly up to a square-shaped breach in the hull.

"All right, let's get in there, _slowly_ ," Jazal said, "Pax, you have point, then Oc'nel. I'll go next, then Soqes. Kier, Higil, you can stay here if you wish or follow."

"We are coming with," Higil said in a serious voice as he pulled a blaster out from the platform.

Pax pulled a blaster out from the platform then stepped into the structure and turned on the external light on the blaster. He looked left, saw nothing amiss, looked right, same story. "Clear," he said.

On the platform, Higil was passing a blaster to everyone, including the Soqes, the engineer.

"Coming up behind you," Oc'nel said.

"Me too," Jazal added.

"We're all here." Higil said.

"Okay, let's find this black box."

* * *

Jazal

The moment Jazal set foot in the Station Command Module, she could feel something was amiss. Metallic figures moved around above them.

"Pax, wait," she ordered. "I sense a presence. There are droids moving around above us."

"Alright everyone—" Pax started.

"—Pax, I am going in front. Change of plans," Jazal instructed before asking, "where is the room the black box is in?"

"It's on this level," Oc'nel answered. "About fifteen meters down the hall."

"Okay, the droids are in a space above that," Jazal replied. "I'll go in first. I don't want any of you shooting me in the back while I fight them. I can handle myself and will ask for help if needed."

"Copy," Pax said.

"Solid Copy," Oc'nel and Kier said.

"You show 'em!" Higil said excitedly.

Soqes was just confused. This made Jazal nervous. She could sense he was pointing his blaster right at Oc'nel's back carelessly.

"Pax," she muttered into the private channel "look at Soqes' blaster. I sense he is very confused and that this is the first time—."

"—Alright, oh geez!" Pax said in the private channel then switched to general.

"Soqes, lower your blaster. Never aim it a teammate's back. You know what they say about friendly fire…"

"Sorry Pax," Soqes said.

Finally reaching the room where the black box was, Jazal could sense the droids right above her. Jazal supposed the droids did not know that she was aware of their presence. The droids continued clinging to the roof and walls 10 to 30 meters above her.

Igniting her lightsaber, Jazal reached out with the Force and pulled them towards her. Three droids fell around her and hit the ground very hard in complete silence.

In another circumstance, Jazal would probably have allowed the droids to at least explain themselves. However, in this circumstance, Jazal could not hear anything they said in space even if they tried, and it was very likely they were involved in the station's destruction. Besides, she thought, _we can repair them if we have reason to._

An electric shock jolted through her body as she swung her lightsaber at the nearest droid, "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Jazal screamed, but no one could hear her.

She panicked and swung her lightsaber in the direction the surge came from. It made contact with a double-bladed polearm of some sort, forcing the polearm away from her suit, but did not cut through the polearm. Jazal backed up as fast as she could, her comm spewing static into her ear.

Reaching out with the force again, Jazal shoved all three droids into the back wall and began retreating from the room, swinging wildly to counter their attacks. Jazal had never encountered anything like them before.

One of the droids sprung forward silently and she sliced through the very centre of its polearm, and into its chest. It floated lifelessly in front of her and let go of its polearm, its magnetic feet stuck to the ground. She could sense one of the droids trying to get behind her walking around her to the right.

"PAX! OPEN FIRE!" she yelled into her staticky comm to no avail and swung her lightsaber at the droid to the right, forcing it back in front of her. The other droid leapt forward and began rapidly slashing its two blades. Jazal's legs were almost hit when she tried jumping and failed due to the magnets.

A realisation crossed her mind: _none of my stances work when my feet are magnetised to the ground!_ She then decided to force-throw them again. The two droids hit the back wall once again.

Suddenly, Pax's voice crackled into the comm "JAZAL! If you don't respond in 5 seconds, we are going to open—"

"—Open fire!" Jazal ordered.

The four blasters behind her opened fire on the momentarily stunned droids. In a surreal moment, Jazal could sense the surge of energy from the blasters moving through the air, but the blasterfire was completely silent. She took a moment to reach out and sense more about the droids—their heads were thin and spherical, they had a grill on their face that resembled a transpirator, and their exterior seemed to be made from armour. Jazal sensed some sort of fabric. _Is that… a cape?_

One of the droid's chests split open from the blaster fire and the other droid attempted to stand on the wall Jazal had pushed him into. She was beginning to feel exhausted from exerting herself.

"I can't hold the last one," she said nearly out of breath.

It leapt forward.

A shot narrowly missed Jazal and Oc'nel yelled "Soqes!" The Judicials all stopped firing unable to hit the droid without hitting her.

Jazal swung her lightsaber into the droid's head slicing it off. The head floated above the droid, momentarily baffling Jazal. More bafflingly, the droid itself did not let go of its polearm. It jabbed straight at Jazal's chest stinging her with a familiar electric shock, but this time, she could hear a whooshing air sound.

Pax picked up one of the inert droid's polearms and stabbed it into the droid attacking Jazal.

Arcs of electricity jolted through the droid and through Jazal. The droid's polearm shut down, and the droid let go and began standing listlessly, completely inert.

Jazal felt her magnetic boots click off and Oc'nel picked weightless figure up. He put his helmet right up to hers and yelled in a muffled voice "Master, your suit is breached! YOUR SUIT IS BREACHED!"

Before she could yell "what do I do?" Pax started squirting a sealant into her suit's chest. The whooshing stopped.

Pax this time put his face plate right onto her faceplate. His voice was barely intelligible through the distortion "Master, you have nine minutes of air, so I am transferring some to you. It will take 20 minutes to get back. Are you injured?"

"Just electric shocks!" Jazal wanted to yell ironically but could not manage sarcasm and yelling from one touching faceplate to another at the same time.

"OK!" Pax yelled back. Then lifted his head back from her face and started talking on the comms.

Jazal stuck her faceplate back into Oc'nel's surprising him. "Agent! I can stand!" she yelled.

"Sorry Jazal!" he yelled before promptly floating her, turning her magnets on, and setting her down on the ground upright.

Her comm was not even making a static noise anymore. The Judicials all seemed to be arguing about what to do. She couldn't tell what they were saying specifically, but she sensed they were scared.

Pax came back "I THINK THE BLACK BOX IS A TRAP, MASTER!" he yelled.

"Let's go back. ACTUALLY! THAT'S AN ORDER AGENT. RETREAT TO THE PLATFORM," she yelled at the top of her lungs.


	13. Lir Sey'les

Antar 4

QATAN PARK would have normally been calm at this hour in Semba Port, with visitors having picnics amongst the trees and watching the wildlife. However, this afternoon it was a centre of activity. Several dozen dark green tents had been erected, and a there was growing police barricade surrounding it in every direction. Several patrol vehicles had landed on the grass.

On the Nu-Class, Sey'les faced her team. "Okay, Wulf, I am leaving you in command while Suldor and I leave to help Master Tursk and the patients." She added with caution, "Wulf, everyone, be careful with the Senator. I would not be surprised if he tries something else with me, Suldor and the Antar police gone. Contact me once you get back to Skyhook 1."

"We will be careful, and I am more than a match for this one-armed Gotal," Wulf responded gruffly. "Don't worry about us."

"I'll be sure to keep him alive," Hashtivar added reassuringly.

The Antar SRU team got out along with Sey'les, Suldor, and Clahra.

As the Nu-Class started climbing to the sky, Hrelduussk faced her and hissed "I cannot believe you left Wulf in charge of your team."

"Well, he is the most like me, so I feel like he is likely to do exactly the same things I would do when he is in charge," Sey'les replied honestly.

Suldor let out a "hmmm." It was as if he thought that were the strangest rationale he had ever heard in his life.

Hrelduussk let out a hiss which Sey'les did not understand.

"…I suppose though, after I leave Wulf in charge, it is annoying having to correct all of his spelling mistakes when he writes his after-action reports," she admitted.

Suldor now made a more worried groan.

"It was nice working with you Hrelduussk," Sey'les said positively.

"You too, good luck with _the bombs_ in your people," Hrelduussk hissed as if trying to make Sey'les see the gravity of the situation. He added in a sarcastic tone "and thank you for all of your help Master Jedi, we could never have cut a hole in a door without you." Hrelduussk and the others on his team hurried off towards one of the tents in the distance.

A Gossam Antarian police chief approached them and said simply "It is great that you are here! We have set up a jamming field, so it is impossible for the bombs to be set off remotely."

"Thank you," Suldor said "but I fear we do not have time for pleasantries."

"The patients are being held 150 meters away beyond the dampening fields we are setting up," he waved at these tall, unpowered, wall-like structures. Some were already in place, and others were being suspended from cables and gently lowered to the ground by Antar police cruisers. "Master Jedi, we have bomb suits over here which you can all try on for size."

For a wild moment, Sey'les imagined Suldor would abandon her, leaving her to her own devices at a safe blast distance. To her relief, the Jedi Master walked with her into the tent, and to her confusion and amazement, so did Clahra.

For an instant Sey'les thought, _what is Clahra even doing here?_ Then, she just decided to accept the reporter's presence without protest.

The large tent was full of dozens of bomb suits and one shower for chemical spills. _Wow these Antar police set up fast_ she thought, mildly impressed. Illuminating the centre of the tent was a long line of ceiling lamps. The sides of the tent were illuminated by the daylight shining in through the openings.

"Suldor, I think that one will fit you," she said, "and Clahra, these should fit you."

"Thank you Sey'les," they both replied.

Suldor still looked very concerned and distracted.

Sey'les already had some over-boots and giant bomb suit pants on. "I have actually put one of these on before," she admitted.

"I know," Suldor said simply as he connected his outer gloves to his final armpiece.

"Ready?" Sey'les asked.

"Ready, I think…" Clahra said. She had attached a her red-lighted helmet camera to the top of her bombsuit helmet. "I have worn similar things to this before too, in space," she added, surprising Sey'les even more.

"Ready," Suldor said.

For some reason, this whole situation did not feel particularly grave or frightening to Sey'les. Now that Suldor was not leading them using his superstitious dreams and visions, she felt safer even as she approached an area. She felt like a centre of confidence now next to Suldor and wished Suldor would relax. Clahra also did not seem to be very frightened.

Tursk's voice came over Suldor's comm again "Where are you? Our people are getting very worried."

"We are almost there Mara. We are now suited up and embarking towards your location," Suldor explained.

The three lumpy bomb suit-wearing shapes waddled out of the tent, beyond the dampening fields. There were several white tents in the centre of the dampening field, at least 100 meters from any of the walls.

A droid was the first thing that greeted them. "Ah, you are here! Wonderful. They are all in on the grass over there. After you mark the bombs, we will isolate each of them and attempt to surgically remove them."

They continued waddling as fast as they could in their clumsy suits. Eventually nearing the centre of an open clearing. There were a dozen of the High Commission personnel waiting nervously in gurneys with just as many medical and surgical droids. In the distance, were several white tents.

One figure in the cluster was also wearing a bomb suit, Master Tursk.

"I am glad you can help, Jan-Ca, Agent Sey'les, and…. Clahra!? What are you doing here?" Master Tursk asked in a very concerned voice.

"Oh, I am still a combat correspondent."

"Aren't you a little… no, very, off the clock?" Tursk asked suspiciously, "You should have gone back to Skyhook 1 with the Extraction Team."

"Yeah, well, I thought I should be here for Suldor and Sey'les. I feel bad abandoning them here in this situation after they both helped me. Also, this is the perfect concluding footage for the episode we are running," Clahra replied.

"Okay…" Tursk said in a confused pause. Then she cleared her throat and explained, "the scans have found indirect evidence of bombs, but they are not physically showing up on the scanners. Each patient weighs a little over 2 grams heavier than they did when they checked into the hospital. All of them have recent surgical wounds but we can't be sure their bombs are directly below those wounds. Our instruments have detected an errant machine noise in the same rhythm as each patient's heartbeat but much louder and more high-pitched—all different rhythms. These things are almost perfectly hidden. We probably could locate them with resonance imaging, but we fear resonance imaging of any kind may set off the bombs. Many bombs have that as a failsafe." Then she added, less sure of herself, "Our plan… Our working plan is for you, Agent Sey'les, to listen to them, and draw on each patient with this surgical marker, where you believe the bomb is. Then the droids will conduct quick exploratory surgery to find extract them. The dampening field will make it impossible for anyone to remotely detonate the bombs, but they could be on a timer."

"Draw on them? I don't hear any beeps," Sey'les admitted.

"What?!" everyone asked in shock, including Clahra.

"I don't hear—oh wait." Sey'les clicked her helmet lock and removed it. Suddenly the field was a chorus of beeps all in different rhythms.

"I couldn't hear them with my helmet on!" Sey'les said in an epiphany.

"Is it safe for Sey'les to take her helmet off?" Clahra asked in a worried voice. "Would her head be protected if a bomb went off?"

"Truthfully," Suldor said, "if one of these patients explodes to the same strength of explosion we saw earlier, we won't survive even in a bomb suit. Everything between here and the dampening field will be an inferno. You felt how hot that explosion was a few hundred meters from the ship?"

"Oh… Okay! Wow!" Clahra exclaimed in shocked surprise, the danger dawning on her for the first time.

Some of the patients overheard Suldor's statement and yelped in fear and alarm. One Rodian started crying.

"I warned you it was dangerous Clahra and said you did not have to be here," Suldor said grimly.

Sey'les still did not feel worried about the bombs. _If they were going to explode, they would have exploded already,_ she thought. Articulating this thought in a way Suldor, Tursk, and Clahra would understand was a more complicated matter. Sey'les felt the feeling that everything was going to be okay but did not understand her own rationale.

"All right, where do I start?" Sey'les asked fighting the urge to cover her ears.

"Anywhere," Tursk answered.

"Don't worry Suldor, my instincts tell me we'll all be fine." Sey'les said in a reassuring voice. She addressed the crowd, "Everyone, listen up! You are going to be fine. I am going to snoop in with my head and listen to find where the bomb is. I might put my face, especially ears, where you won't expect them because I have no idea where these bastards put those bombs. It isn't personal, but I might get angry if you slap me." Then she added with a toothy cocky grin, "Don't worry, I won't bite."

A Pantoran male in the front row actually laughed uncontrollably at her joke while the remainder the room was silent. A few of the patients looked back at her in horror, most looked a bit relieved. "Oh, that's all," one of them said.

"Aha, I thought I might have heard a Pantoran on the radio!" she yelled. "Okay Pantoran, you're first."

Sey'les approached the Pantoran and focused on the nearest beep. She had to cover her left ear to drown out the sounds of the other beeps. When she focused with just her right ear, she could tell which one was specifically his pattern. "Okay, where is your cut?" she asked.

"Cut?" the Pantoran asked.

"Where is the surgical mark Soron?" Tursk asked in a calm voice.

"It is right here," the Soron, replied lifting his gown and showing Sey'les this mark with stitches on his left side.

After he lowered his gown, Sey'les started listening over that spot on his clothes. It got louder as she moved up. She awkwardly pushed her head under his arm near his armpit, the Pantoran took a deep shocked breath. The sound was clearly coming from under his pale-white armpit hair.

"I'm sorry about this!" Sey'les groaned, then gripped his somewhat muscly arm firmly, lifted it, took out the marker and drew a circle outline around his musky-smelling armpit hair. Drawing on his armpit was oddly sensual.

 _Stop being a creep,_ she commanded to herself burying those thoughts. _Suldor and Tursk are probably sensing something_. _Damn though, I really, really, really need to get out more._

The blue marker on his blue skin was barely visible. Sey'les was a bit worried. "Is there any colour we can use on him besides blue? This doesn't stand out very well Master," she said, trying to sound especially professional.

"It will be fine Sey'les," Tursk replied. The marker has a metallic component that all of our medical droids' eyes can discern very easily regardless of the patient's skin colour."

A medical droid wheeled away the Pantoran to one of the tents.

"All right then," Sey'les said as she walked up to a red-haired human woman. _Yikes_ she thought. Sey'les could see a scar on the woman's neck. She pressed her ear up to the woman's neck and she flinched, "Sorry about this… uh… found it." Sey'les drew a circle on the base of the woman's jawline. Some of the onlooking patients hissed in a grimace. _That'll be a nasty surgery_ Sey'les thought, grimacing herself.

"Hey," Sey'les said, turning to Suldor her own train of thought. "I think these bombs were intended to go off only on the _Judicator_!" _That's why she thought everything was going to be fine._ Sey'les grinned to herself realising she must have figured it out without knowing she had.

The human woman stared at Sey'les's smiling face worriedly.

"I think you are right Sey'les," Suldor said a bit surprised. "They must have been designated for the Judicator… a detonation that hot could melt right through the hull, and that explains why their timers have not gone off yet… maybe they are even proximity detonators, but Agent, stay focused. Mara and I will worry about that later. That is for us to worry about not you."

Sey'les repeated the procedure for the next forty minutes, finally arriving to the last patient.

A buzz vibrated from her datapad in her bombsuit. She ignored it. She had gotten the Rodian, who had cried earlier, to lay on her stomach. The source of the beep was located on her left shoulder blade. She drew a circle around the source of the noise on the Rodian's scaly glimmering skin.

As the droids wheeled away the last patient, Suldor said, "Okay, none of us have to be here for the surgeries." "The droids are programmed to handle this. Sey'les, you have the rest of the day off. I will ensure you get a hazard pay bonus this month, and a commendation."


	14. Itoll Oc'nel

In Orbit of Rhen Var

"DAMN!" was the first word that came to Oc'nel's mind.

"Kier and Higil, Pax says it's a trap, Jazal agrees. Jazal is leaking air even with the sealant, we need to go!" Oc'nel yelled at the stubborn security officers.

"But the black box is right here! The SBI ordered Master Averross to get it." Kier was standing right next to the black box, along with Higil and Soqes.

"I could crack it in 30 seconds," Soqes said.

"The intelligence could be—" Higil started.

"—ENOUGH!" Oc'nel yelled. _Blast these security bozos!_

"I'll note your objections in my report Kier, Soqes and Higil," Pax said into the comm. "We need to move. If the SBI wants it, they can get it themselves. I'll prep the platform and tell Averross, Higil, speaking of intelligence… grab one of the destroyed droids, Soqes, help him. I have never seen anything like them."

"Yes sir," Higil yelled.

Pax turned off his magnetic boots and pushed off the walls down the hallway as if swimming moving far faster than the rest of the group.

Oc'nel was moving with Jazal behind him, constantly glancing back at her to make sure her suit integrity was holding. He was vaguely paying attention to the chatter going on the comm.

Averross's voice suddenly came into the comm "Salvage team! I see that Jazal's suit is damaged—"

"—yes Master, I was about to inform you. I am taking command of the salvage mission and we are bringing Jazal with us. Her comm is broken. We got attacked by some unknown droids, one of which we are—"

"—Pax, we are detectin' hyperspace signatures and the SBI is not due to arrive for hours. Get back here as fast possible."

"Yes Master, my thoughts too," Pax's voice replied.

Oc'nel and Jazal reached the platform after what felt like an eternity. They both sat in the front portion immediately below Pax's chair.

Soqes and Higil arrived holding one of the droids. Kier held its electrostaff.

"Don't worry Kier, this will give the intelligence people plenty of things to look over," Pax noted.

Glancing at Jazal's chest again, Oc'nel could see her suit integrity was holding. He read the air meter on her hand. "Pax, she has twelve minutes of air. It's getting low again. Giving her another refill." He pulled out another emergency air canister and connected a tube with side of her suit and released the contents.

Pax began firing the thrusters to the platform. "Our ETA is 20 minutes unless you can get a bit closer to us _Agarath_."

"That's a negative Pax." Aveross suddenly said, "We are detectin' multiple signatures, smaller ships… they look like pirates heading straight for us. They aren't respondin' to hails. I think it's best if we remain between them and you."

"Agreed," Pax said.

"They are firin' torpedoes!" Averross warned, "we are returnin' fire, but I can't guarantee being able to take them all out."

Oc'nel could see the red blasts of the _Agarath's_ front turbolaser going off as it turned to face the oncoming ships. Several impacts hit the _Agarath's_ shields from opponents they could not yet see. The shield was glimmering silently, blocking the impacts.

"I am taking us in faster. It is still mostly clear from Jazal's last trick, but the debris field is shifting a bit. Oc'nel ask Jazal if she can possibly do that same trick she did earlier," Pax said as they approached the edge of the debris field.

Oc'nel put his helmet onto Jazal's helmet. "Master Jedi! We are approaching the debris again this time faster. It'll be more important to um… block stuff!" he yelled, not entirely sure what to call what Jazal had done earlier.

"All right Oc'nel, I'll do my best," she yelled back.

A few bits and pieces near the platform were drifting away. Looking in every direction around him, Oc'nel marvelled at the odd beauty the space garbage formed when Jazal pushed it into organised wall-shapes. _Whoa, that is so weird._

Hostile unknown fighters suddenly flew over the _Agarath_ towards them. The _Agarath_ shot torpedoes at the fighters which began evading. A small transport flew under the _Agarath_ , it's shields shimmering as the _Agarath_ opened fire with its lasers.

Oc'nel groaned in fear, worrying what may happen if one of the torpedoes hits the fighters near them.

The _Agarath_ spun its massive hull back around, slowly, trying to face the platform to clear the hostile ships that were now all around the team on the platform.

A jolt shook the whole platform. "They have a tractor beam on us!" Pax yelled.

Looking up, it was possible to make out several figures peering out in space suits from the bottom of the transport, right where the tractor beam ended. From this distance, Oc'nel could not tell what species they were, or even if they were organic.

"Blast them!" Higil yelled.

Kier, Soqes, Higil and Oc'nel began shooting their blasters up at the transport to no avail.

"Whooaaa…." Oc'nel said once again. Looking up with his uncovered eye, he could see a tidal wave of debris pelting the transport. The figures around the tractor beam in spacesuits stopped looking down and retreated inside. A large piece of hull plating slammed into the tractor beam generator at the bottom. The tractor beam sparked once then turned off. The platform was free.

Two of the enemy fighters began firing on them. They were close enough for Oc'nel to see they were Dunelizard fighters _._

A red blast nearly hit Pax high up in his chair.

"Blast!" Oc'nel yelled to himself as one of the fighters passed them, passing within centimetres of the platform.

The fighters turned to go for another strafing run.

His spine was beginning to tingle from his adrenaline rush but there was nothing he could do. _Everyone is completely useless in this situation_ he thought to himself, then he let off another astonished, mind-blown, involuntary, deep-voiced "Whoooaaaaaa!"

Both of the fighters were suddenly caught in the middle of a debris field that formed in front of them. As they both started turning back to try and go around the debris, a huge pipe breached one of the Dunelizard's cockpits and it flew out of control.

An opening formed again in the debris field, allowing them to pass as Pax flew the platform into it at full speed.

Jazal looked exhausted. Oc'nel pressed his face up to her helmet and yelled "Jazal, are you all right?!"

"Yeah!" she yelled in a breathy voice.

All of the active hostile fighters were now flying away from the scene as fast as they could. The transport was limping away too.

Finally, the platform reached the _Agarath's_ hangar. The instant they set down Oc'nel could feel the _Agarath_ jump to hyperspace and ships artificial gravity compressing him again.

As Jazal took off her helmet she gasped for air. "Pax," she paused taking a deep breath, "Pax, did Averross say where we were flying?"

"Not yet at least…"

"Aveross, where are we going?" she asked breathlessly into her headset.

The Master replied with one word: "Alpheridies."

"Alpheridies!" Higgil said alarmed.

"Alpheridies? Where's that?" Kier asked.

"My home world," Jazal said in a completely unoffended tone. Lots of beings from the Core had very limited geographical knowledge of anything further from Coruscant than Corellia.

"Master Jedi, why are we going there? Shouldn't we go to a Republic station of some sort," Pax asked.

"There is a Republic station there," Averross muttered. "We also need some R&R. I really don't trust these Senate Bureau of Intelligence idiots."


	15. Lir Sey'les

In Orbit of Antar 4

Sey'les rode a Jedi T-6 shuttle up to the _Judicator_ with Suldor and Clahra. At first, she had protested when Suldor extended an invitation only to her and not the rest of her team, and then protested again when he refused to allow her to invite one other person. Wulf said the reception would probably be boring anyways, and Suldor explained to her that she could make many political connections. "Political connections which would benefit your entire _little_ team," the Jedi had explained.

Sitting silently in her blue Judicial dress uniform, Sey'les tried to make it look like she was not fuming. Suldor and Clahra were chatting away. It was dark at first, but as they cleared the troposphere, the sunny outline of the otherwise dark gas giant of Antar became visible. Antar 4 would now be in two days of darkness as it orbited through the shadow of Antar. She stared at the dark mass pretending it was the most interesting thing ever.

"You know Sey'les, some of these gas giants have a layer that is breathable," Suldor suddenly said.

"I, uh no… what?" she asked bewildered.

"Indeed. This particular gas giant lacks one though," Suldor noted while adjusting the controls slightly at the pilot seat. "Instead, it has an ethanol…"

"Wait? Master, this gas giant has a layer of alcohol!?" she exclaimed in excitement.

Clahra giggled a little bit at Sey'les's reaction and then covered her mouth.

Pausing as if surprised that Sey'les knew the chemical compound name for alcohol, Suldor continued, "Well... a gaseous dirty layer of alcohol, so yes in a manner of speaking."

" _Rogue_ …" Sey'les growled, staring at the gas giant with renewed interest. Then she noticed how oddly Suldor and Clahra were looking at her. "I took a year of chemistry at the Judicial Academy, Master."

"Oh, I see…" Suldor said.

"Chemistry? Did you pass—" Clahra started.

"Clahra! I do not want you behaving rudely to Sey'les now."

"Sorry Sey'les, sorry Jan-Ca," Clahra sighed.

"Uh what? Oh, apology accepted I guess," Sey'les said, far too interested in the gas giant to think about anything Clahra was saying.

Sey'les was now grinning so widely that her snout was slightly open. She closed her snout as another even more exciting thought about the gas giant Antar crossed her mind. "Master, is it… flammable too?"

"No. It probably used to be though, but early in the Antar System's formation, the flammable layer burned away leaving the trace amounts of ethanol and water we have today."

Sey'les started asking a question in her calmest possible voice, suppressing her excitement to sound as rational and clear-minded as possible. The Bothan's neck fur swirled guiltily as she leaned forward. "Sir, would it be possible for us to—"

Suldor looked down at her neck then looked back to the cockpit window. "—No Agent, I am sorry, but a detour right now is out of the question." Suldor said firmly. "If this system becomes safer, you can take leave and visit it if you want in your own time Agent. I am very happy to see that you are curious about this though."

"All right Master." _I should take a vacation off-world I suppose_ , she thought. Judicials had a month of leave per year not counting weekends, holidays, and R&R during extended missions. Normally though, Sey'les spent her time off on Coruscant. She hadn't even been back to Bothan Space in three years and usually found the Bothan displays during All Species Week to be enough to quench any homesickness.

"Yeah Sey'les. Getting to Antar and back would probably take an hour," Clahra said impatiently. "We are already running a little bit late thanks to that argument—"

"—Clahra, I'm sorry. I only wanted my team to come along," Sey'les said.

"I know, but I really agree with Suldor. I think the reception can only handle one member of Team Muun at a time," Clahra said.

"We are a bit…" Sey'les started looking for a word.

"Wild." Clahra said feeding her a word.

"Fine. We are _wild_ , but we get the job done," Sey'les aid proudly, then added "imagine if you had to go to a party with no one you knew Clahra."

"You know Savit, his team, Suldor and I right?" Clahra asked.

Before Sey'les could respond, Suldor started a lecture. "Most of us in service to the Republic do that all the time Sey'les. Some Jedi avoid social events too, to their own detriment. If you got invited to more things Agent, you would have to learn to get along with more strangers too. Aside from Tursk, Clahra, yourself, and some of the _Judicator's_ crew, everyone there I will be meeting for the first time. Sey'les, this is not a party or a cantina crawl—is it is a state reception. Please keep that in mind."

"Will do, Master Jedi. Will do," Sey'les said with a bored expression while leaning back in her chair.

* * *

The forward assembly hall at the tip of the _Judicator_ had been converted into a massive reception hall. Windows lined all of the walls, with each window divided by diagonal beams. Near the entrance to the cone-shaped hall sat dozens of round tables, each with eight seats. Further back, along the left window-lined wall, three long tables sat with a wide array of Coruscanti and Antarian cuisine; the tables were arranged in a diagonal line conforming to the shape of the left wall.

Various musical instruments were assembled on a makeshift stage to the right side of the very tip of the cone. The seats with the poorest view of the orchestra were near the buffet on the left side of the assembly hall, while the seats with the best view were further from the buffet on the right side of the assembly hall.

Clahra, Suldor, and Sey'les entered the reception together. Sey'les gazed around the room suspiciously, trying to find anyone she recognised.

To Sey'les's annoyance, the entirety of Team Aurek had been invited. All of the human Judicials stood together wearing the same dark blue uniform Sey'les was, chatting with a group of curious civilians along the right-side window-lined wall. Agent Savit seemed to be the centre of attention.

Master Tursk was nowhere to be found.

"Clahra, I am going to have a chat with Viri Max, the Defence Minister," Suldor said before he hurried off.

Clahra looked a bit annoyed to Sey'les, but just replied "have fun!" in a cheerful voice.

Sey'les sniffed the air curiously and started walking towards the buffet, _Might as well just grab a bite to eat_. A hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Clahra asked.

"I am just gonna get some food and sit on one of the tables," Sey'les replied as if it was the obvious thing to do.

"You're supposed to be making connections with important people, you saved a lot of lives earlier Sey'les. Look!" Clahra pointed, "High Commissioner Soron! Why don't you have a chat with him?"

_Huh, how do I know him?_ Sey'les thought for a second, then recognised the Pantoran. "All right, do you want to come Clahra?"

"Sure."

"Aren't you supposed to be a reporter?" Sey'les asked Clahra as they walked, noticing that Clahra did not bring her camera, did not bring a microphone, nor were there any camera crew present.

"Sey'les, that is not why I am at this reception at all," Clahra replied bluntly. "Many people socialise a lot less with you when you look and act like a reporter. I am trying to enjoy myself and meet new people. Then, when I ever meet them while working as a reporter, they will be familiar with me and talk to me."

As she and Clahra approached the crowd, Sey'les took a deep breath through her mouth as if she were about to jump into water. Her Bothan brain was telling her she had to be ready for anything walking into this group of aliens.

"And, here is the Judicial who saved my life!" the Pantoran yelled suddenly causing Sey'les to jump.

"Agent Sey'les," Sey'les smiled while introducing herself. "I only was part of—"

Clahra elbowed her side and whispered angrily "take the compliment!"

"Oh, it was no problem," Sey'les said awkwardly, massaging her side.

"I am High Commissioner Soron. It is so nice to see you again, one second," Soron walked over to Clahra and whispered in her ear "Have you seen Master Tursk anywhere?"

Clahra whispered back "sorry no, Master Suldor was looking for her too."

"Very well," Soron said, "Viri Max, I would like you to meet Sey'les."

The Antarian Minister of Defence Sey'les saw earlier stooped low to shake her hand.

"I heard your speech earlier, Minister, it was a nice—"

"—most of us heard your speech too Agent," he chuckled and forced his wide Gotal mouth shut as if worried he would laugh out of control. "It was all about… how did you put it? 'Kicking ass'?"

Most of the crowd chuckled a little bit while Clahra and Savit both smiled. Sey'les looked down with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry if I—"

"Oh no, don't apologise. Savit here just told me he was _nearly_ _asleep_ from my speech," Viri Max said accusingly.

This time Savit's face looked uncomfortable and his cheeks began blushing as he tugged at his collar.

"Oh no, sir, you can't possibly think! I didn't—" Savit started.

"—It's all right Agents!" the giant Gotal said as he playfully slapped both Sey'les and Savit on the back so hard it pushed them forward. "Both of your teams did a fine job today."

"Your Antar police were no slouches either Minister," Sey'les interjected, catching her breath from the powerful back-blow.

"Yes, well, we train them to be—oh," Viri Max started before getting a tap on the shoulder from Suldor who had suddenly appeared. "Master Jedi?"

Suldor had a grave expression and looked more fearful than Sey'les had ever seen him. "We need to talk," Suldor whispered urgently, "have a nice evening everyone," he said in a very distracted voice as he and Viri Max walked away.

Sey'les tried listening in but was startled with a tap on her own shoulder.

"Sey'les, I am going to see what is going on, Master Suldor looks worried," Clahra said.

"All right, you can sit with us later if you want Clahra, if there's room at our table," Savit said.

"See you later Clahra," Sey'les said, followed by six or seven "byes!" from Soron and the rest of Savit's team.

"Is Master Suldor really going to allow a reporter in on his discussion with Viri Max?!" Cas, a female member of Savit's all-human team asked.

"I don't know, but it is odd," Savit said.

"If you ask me, there's something going on…" Archard, another member of Team Aurek, said as he stared at Clahra walking away.

Sey'les sighed. _These guys do not know the half of it. No_ , _they don't even know the quarter of it,_ she thought, but kept it to herself.

After a few minutes, everyone had forgotten about the unexpected departures of Clahra, Suldor, and Viri Max. The group had devolved into smaller groups with more and more civilians mixing. Numerous Antarian local Senators were also arriving, a bit late, Sey'les noticed.

Soron and Savit were now talking loudly and excitedly about a match of Twirrling, a sport Sey'les had never heard of. Cas was talking about her toddler son who was on Coruscant with her husband to Fenron, another member of Savit's team, Sey'les, and everyone else who would listen.

A question kept popping up in Sey'les's mind: _What is the point of this?_ She wondered whether this was a snobby version of a big mission accomplished announcement, or just a chance for the upper crust of the Republic's taskforce to have a party with the upper crust of Antarian loyalists _. A party… no, as Master Suldor would put it, a 'state reception.'_

Sey'les smelled a familiar musky sour yeasty smell, a smell she had not caught a whiff of in over a year. _Adumari Beer!_ "Excuse me," she said excitedly in the middle of Cas's story about her toddler's latest misadventure where his foot became stuck in a stairwell bannister. "I am going to get some Adumari beer."

Cas and Fenron stared at her with their little human mouths hanging open.

"Sorry, I smelled—sorry one second," she said as she pushed through the crowd towards the smell. She could hear Fenron and Cas laughing a hard as she got further away.

"Excuse me, I… sorry excuse me," she smiled apologetically as she passed through a cluster of Gotals. They looked down at her momentarily to see what she was, and then stepped out of the way.

Eventually, she happened upon the source of the smell. It was a fairly tall Koorivar in a black and white suit holding this big silver plate in one hand. On one half of the silver plate were absurdly small glasses of Adumari Beer which smelled like they were from a very recently opened bottle. The other half of the plate had a very pungent salty-smelling white cheese of some sort.

_I could down like six bottles of that stuff, easy_ , Sey'les thought wondering why they were serving it like glasses of fancy wine. Most of the crowd did not seem very interested, at least not yet, and the Koorivar almost looked like he was advertising the stuff, desperate to get someone drinking it.

" _Rogue,_ " Sey'les growled in awe.

"Rogue? Ma'am, this beer is a blend from the Wild Space world of—"

"Adumar, I know, you can call me 'Agent' if you like," Sey'les said with a beam. "Oh, sorry… Rogue it's… _mapak_ , it's Bothan slang. Sometimes I say it in Basic."

"Ah, well Agent, for the Bothan with a discerning taste, here we also have a touch of Serntaal cheese, grown from Yak milk in the vats of Aeten III, it is the perfect pairing."

"Thank you very much," she said, "but dairy does not agree with Bothans." Sey'les took the beer and left the cheese. "Hey, there is something you can do for me. If you have a surplus of it bottled up, I would appreciate it very much if I could bring back to my team," she asked in a statement.

"I will see what I can do," the Koorivar said in an interested tone.

Sey'les returned to the group and saw Commissioner Soron standing by himself. Cas and Fenron were now chatting with a mixed-species group of Antarians.

"Where did Savit go?" she asked.

"Oh, Savit is up before the buffet starts."

"Up?" she asked.

"Singing. You know? Opera?"

"Ooooh! Music!" Sey'les exclaimed feeling stupid.

Sey'les knew Agent Thaddeus Savit was a member of the Coruscanti Savit family, one of the Elder Houses. Everything about him screamed royal status. Although the Savits no longer even had ceremonial power on Coruscant, their family dominated Coruscant's music scene and had hereditary ties to monarchs on other worlds such as Arkanis and Alderaan—worlds which still had powerful monarchs. Sey'les did not know, however, that Thaddeus himself had a musical talent. She always assumed he must be the family reject to end up becoming a Judicial. Perhaps she was wrong.

Suddenly realising how rude it would be for her to drink two glasses of beer while talking to the High Commissioner, who had none. Sey'les shifted one of her beers to her other hand, and asked in her smoothest-possible voice "Oh, Soron, would you like a glass of Adumari Beer?"

"Sure," the Pantoran said brightly.

Sey'les gave him one of the glasses of Adumari Beer, then sipped at hers savouring the sharp umami flavour, fizzy bubbles, and the earthy musky smell.

After taking a sip, Soron scrunched his nose. "Sey'les we were all wondering. How far away can you smell something like Adumari Beer?" he asked after finishing a sip.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Bothans can smell a lot more than humans and," she eyed Soron up and down, "probably Pantorans, but I don't know much about your people."

"Your hearing is… extraordinary too. It is nice to have you around," Soron said. "It is a pity though, that most Bothans don't want to well… be around."

"Eh, I blame the Onels and the Alyas," Sey'les said matter of factly.

"The Onels and Alyas?"

"Yeah, the Onels and Alyas fought a vicious clan war 350 years ago and again 200 years ago… Well they had been fighting—"

"—Oh, everyone who has opened a history book knows that Sey'les, but I am wondering what that would have to do with today. That's common knowledge," Soron interjected before taking another sip with a grimace.

"Since then," Sey'les sighed. "Since then, the Onels and Alyas signed a peace treaty. Most of them left the moons of Bothawui, our gas giant. The Alyas bought a colony world, Kothlis, and invited all of their buddies to live with them. The Onels, well they're really crazy. They started living on our third planet Botha'ahir. It is in the habitable zone but doesn't even have much of an atmosphere. They have been terraforming it for 300 years and yet, it barely has a magnetosphere, but some Bothans move there to join them. The terraforming project it's almost like… well it's important to them or something."

"So Bothans don't integrate with the Galaxy because… they settled Kothlis and Botha'ahir?"

Soron looked very puzzled which Sey'les thought was odd. _You are spot on_. "Exactly Soron. Why would you want to deal with a bunch of humans or Pantorans if there are these other rocks that only Bothans live on. You can have your interplanetary—" Unable to think of a word, Sey'les paused awkwardly. She began twirling her glass precariously struggling to come up with a word in Basic, "—existence? Interplanetary existence without dealing with other species very much. We send two Senators to Coruscant, but otherwise, only minimal participation. Also, many Bothans, not me mind you, but many Bothans… we know stuff about you."

"The Spynet?" Soron asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes, our leaders see all of your dirt, all of your schemes, all of your corruption, all of your incompetence, all of your violence, all of your abuse, all of your failures, all of the reasons not to be involved with the greater Galaxy. Why worry about what Kuat's doing when Clan Onel just built three more attack cruisers, and you know the government of Kuat is dirty and not a real threat? Personally," Sey'les paused as she downed the remainder of the Adumari Beer in a big snouty-gulp, then she gave a toothy feral grin "Personally Commissioner Soron, I enjoy your dirt."

Soron had a wide-eyed expression of terror after her last comment.

_Yep, you blue-skinned muscly dummy. I am hitting on you,_ Sey'les thought aggressively, as if trying to push the thought out of her brain into his. _Awww… come on! I am not that scary!_ As the seconds went on, Sey'les started experiencing more worried thoughts. _He looks terrified. Damn. I hope he doesn't think I am trying to get Defamat on him or blackmail him._

After no response for ten seconds, Sey'les giggled a bit awkwardly in her most effeminate voice, loosened her uniform's cuffs, then asked "oh, I forgot to ask, how's your pit?"

"My pit?!" Soron exclaimed in terror and alarm nearly spilling Adumari Beer on himself.

"Your armpit? A droid had to cut the bomb out of it right?"

"Oh yes, it hurt a lot and I still have stitches," Soron said as he moved his hand near his armpit as if to feel the stitches. "I am feeling much better today though. Some of my staff are still recovering."

"Well, I hope they get better," Sey'les said earnestly.

"So do—"

Captain Ozzel cut off what Soron was going to say next. He stood at the tip of the room, banging a chime with a high-pitched sickening _ding_ that made Sey'les's fur stand on end.

"May I have your attention. Before we go to the buffet and enjoy some of the best delicacies from Coruscant and Antar, one of our very own Judicials, Thaddeus Savit, will be performing for us. Everyone, a round of applause for Thaddeus Savit!"

The whole room started clapping. Sey'les let off a few unenthusiastic claps and forced herself not to yawn. _Don't be jerk,_ she thought to herself in a command, _some people just like… boring stuff_.

Agent Savit stood on the stage in his blue Judicial Uniform and bowed. "Tonight, I am going to be performing the opening to _Lani Intalyador_ ," or something which sounded like 'Lani Intalyador' to the Bothan.

Sey'les had no idea what language that was from, but it was certainly not Basic, Shyriiwook, or Bothese.

_Whoa… that's weird,_ Sey'les thought. The relatively lean Judicial sung in such a deep voice, a voice much deeper than he talked normally. Savit's movements as he performed this opera were eccentric. The crowd was hushed. In any other setting, Sey'les would have thought a human bellowing and gesticulating like that was funny, but this, this was interesting.

The echoes were coming from three directions, at least to Sey'les's ears. She wondered whether or not Savit had ever practiced in this room, or if that effect was just lucky. After ten or twenty seconds, someone dimmed the lights a little bit.

* * *

When Savit's opera finally ended, Sey'les was relieved. The beginning was a curiosity but Sey'les only had so much patients for watching a human gesticulate eccentrically while bellowing in a deep voice.

Team Aurek had taken a seat with her nearest to the stage, and Soron was sitting at the table. Viri Max, Suldor, and Clahra still had not returned.

Sey'les had gotten a plate of Gartro eggs, some bread, some Antarian purple mashed thing that smelled sweet, and unfermented heated Bith beans—not her favourite way to eat Bith beans but she could not say no to Bith beans.

_It is really funny that we Judicials are supposed to mingle and introduce ourselves to the room, but we all sit together_ , Sey'les thought.

"What does that purple… thing taste like Sey'les?" Tonkins asked she pointed at Sey'les plate.

"Oh, I haven't tried it yet," Sey'les scooped up a bite. "mhhmm… sweet and sour, really mushy, like a candied H'nemthe Yam, but sour too."

"In that case, I think I'll get some when I go back for seconds," she replied.

"Agent," a familiar voice said, "would you like another glass of Adumari Beer?"

"Sure!" she said and took two more from the Koorivar grinning.

The Koorivar whispered in her ear "I left a keg of this stuff in the refrigerator compartments. The access code is 8422."

"8422?"

"Yes Agent."

"Thank you very much Mr?!"

"Oh I don't have a surname. Call me Zel."

"All right, thank you Zel," Sey'les said smiling uncontrollably, completely unable to hide her excitement. _Wulf, Hashtivar and Ugnaughts are gonna love this!_ She typed 8422 into her datapad's memos.

Sey'les downed one of the glasses in a savage snouty gulp almost as if she were biting the drink. Then she took another bite of the yams with her spoon and ate a Gartro egg using her fingers.

"You shouldn't drink too much Sey'les," Cas whispered harshly in her ear in a stern tone as Sey'les downed her final glass. "Wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself. Wouldn't want to make a fool of all of us."

"Hey! I am only tipsy," Sey'les said defiantly. She faced Cas and gave her second feral toothy grin of the evening.

Cas rolled her eyes at the Bothan.

Suddenly, dozens of comms started going off in everyone's pockets, wrists, or belt buckles in a two-tone beep warning that there was an emergency.

_Damn! I'm tipsy! I am so tipsy!_ Sey'les thought in alarm. She quickly downed a random glass of water which wasn't even hers. _Hopefully that will wash the beer smell out of my mouth_.

All of the Republic personnel in the room, Judicial, Republic Security, or civilian, had received an alert

The Republic personnel all moved out of the forward assembly hall, leaving the Antarians and the various non-Republic employed civilians behind. The tiny thin screen on Sey'les's comm read "BRIEFING: BATTLE OPERATIONS ROOM 20:30 HOURS."

"I am going to get something real quick!" Sey'les yelled over the commotion to Agent Savit.

Smiling back at her with this _you are very naughty_ look, Savit replied, "All right Sey'les, we shall see you at the briefing."

Sey'les took off as fast as she could through the bustling halls of the _Judicator_ and arrived at her quarters.

_Oh no! I am tipsy! I can't be tipsy!_ Sey'les began brushing her teeth quickly. She drank another glass of water when she finished and changed her dry socks which had now become unbearably hot. In the mirror, she saw her ashy grey, black, and white head-hair had gotten a bit staticky and wet it down. She wanted to look rogue, but not quite _that rogue._

On her way to the briefing, she walked a bit more slowly this time. She still had 10 minutes to spare and was nearly to the Turbolift.

Hitting **"Bridge"** on the Turbolift, took her up to the Bridge and Battle Operations Room. The first thing she noticed was Suldor and Clahra chatting. Suldor looked like he was talking, but talking to no one, and looked extremely distant.

"Master, I think we should get you some help," Clahra pleaded. "I am sure Tursk is going to be found."

Suldor was muttering to himself under his breath and trembling.

At overhearing Clahra's comment, Sey'les was worried.

The Operations Room was filled with chairs and most of the audience was already seated. Captain Ozzel was at the podium talking with several of his bridge officers and one pilot.

"Tursk is missing?!" Sey'les asked Suldor and Clahra alarmed.

"Worse." Clahra said, "she's been abducted by the Assembly for Separation."

"Master," Sey'les said looking into Suldor's sad distant eyes. "Tursk is going to need you Master, we are all going to need your help. You need to get a grip sir."

"The Force… Sey'les… the Force, I was wrong. You were right."

"Right about what?!" Sey'les demanded to know growing increasingly impatient.

"I think they are going to need to contact the Jedi Council, Sey'les," Clahra said in an even more worried voice.

Sey'les was beginning to feel a mixture of sadness and rage. This Master Jedi had the nerve to call her and her entire species 'weak-minded' to her face, over and over again, and now he had lost it. _He cannot lose it! We need him._ Desperation was beginning to settle on her.

"Ahem," Ozzel, the plump human Captain with pinkish sunburnt-looking skin, a brown moustache, and brown hair started. "Ahem, let's begin our briefing. Please, everyone, take your seats."

Sey'les took a seat on a row towards the front with many empty chairs.

"We are evacuating all of our personnel and equipment from Skyhook 1. For the remainder of the mission, all Republic personnel—Judicials, security, and civilians, will remain on the _Judicator_ unless authorised. Agent Sey'les!"

"Yes Captain?" she growled nervously.

"Your team will be arriving shortly."

"Oh, thank you sir," she said with a sigh of relief. Sey'les thought Captain Ozzel had smelled that she had drunk alcohol from the podium. _His sense of smell isn't that good_ Sey'les reminded herself.

Captain Ozzel continued. "A little over two hours ago, Master Mara Tursk went missing. Several Unity Senators have also gone missing. Thirty-four minutes ago, this HoloMessage was broadcasted from a mountain park overlooking Semba Bay."

Sey'les gasped in horror along with many others in the room as Captain Ozzel put the message up on display.

On the viewscreen, Master Tursk was sitting on her knees with an Aurek burned into the middle of her furry Gotal head and missing an arm. Kallus Dru, the new head of the Assembly for Separation, was waving her green-bladed lightsaber around wildly like a maniac. A few Gotals, Gossams, and Korrivars stood around him wearing sinister masks with designs in the shape of humanoid skulls.

_How the hell did they get her!_ Sey'les wondered with a sinking feeling of dread and hopelessness overpowering her. She could not watch this sickening display, closed her eyes, and just listened to the rant.

"This attack is in response to the Jedi, Jan-Ca Suldor, callously amputating Senator Leshmeel Zil's arm, and also to the Antarian traitors like this Jedi Master herself, aligning themselves with the Republic. All Antarian traitors out there, police, soldiers, even Jedi, we will mark you, just like we marked her. We have the faces of all of the Antar police who participated in the raid on Senator Zil's gathering and are offering a 7,000 Separatist Credit bounty on Lieutenant Hrelduussk's head, and a 7,000 credit bounty on any Republic Judicial. An additional 1,000 credit bounty is out there for anyone who marks a member of Hrelduussk's family. Starting tomorrow, we will be putting a bounty on any Antar police officer who does not desert and leave this world."

"Holy shtak!" Sey'les yelled in fear and forced her eyes open seeing the Trandoshan's red face and his street address listed under it. She blinked tears out of her eyes and realised she had been crying. On the screen, she could also see her own face along with the faces of everyone on team Muun labelled **"unknown Judicial"** in Aurebesh letters.

"Master Suldor," Kallus Dru's cold voice continued, "I propose a trade. If the Republic surrenders Senator Zil, we will return Master Tursk. You have one hour. Until the Republic leaves Master Suldor, it will be a—well as that Trandoshan traitor would call it _, a hunt._ "

As Sey'les looked around she could see most of the humans had gone several shades paler. She had learned years ago that this was a sign of fear. _If they got this video an hour ago, then it is already almost too late to trade the Senator_ , Sey'les thought with alarm.

"The Republic will not stand for such violence against our personnel!" Captain Ozzel said angrily.

Sey'les wiped the tears off her eyes and yelled angrily in agreement "HOOOAAHH!"

Savit, some members of Team Aurek, and a few of the fighter pilots, gave a croaky "Hooah," unable to hide their terror.

Captain Ozzel looked Sey'les in the eyes with respect and nodded.

"We may yet trade the Senator, but mark my words, we are not pulling out. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is holding an emergency meeting with the Loyalist Committee, and the Republic will authorise force soon. Any questions?"

"Captain, is it possible that Master Tursk's locations can be ascertained from—"

Suldor interrupted with a scream. "THEY KILLED HER! THOSE LIARS! THE FORCE LIED. SHOWED ME—AHHH!" and began hacking all of the terminals around him wildly. Clahra took cover in terror and crawled away.

"Medical emergency! Security!" the Captain yelled into his comm.

Suldor stood next to the terminal with his lightsaber ignited, breathing heavily. It was clear to Sey'les from Suldor's eyes that he was not actually looking at anyone; he was staring into space where beings happened to be standing.

_He's totally lost his mind!_ Sey'les thought in renewed panic.

A few moments later several medical technicians entered the room in grey and white uniforms.

One of them cautiously approached Suldor and injected something into his neck saying "Master Jedi, this is only going to hurt a little bit. I need you to sleep for me."

Suldor collapsed and they began putting him on a gurney. A medical droid now had entered the room.

In a spontaneous moment, Sey'les decided to get up and help. She approached the struggling technicians and helped them heave his fat body up onto the gurney.

"Master, we are going to find Tursk for you, then everything—" she started.

"—no Sey'les, she's dead. I felt it," Suldor replied with finality. It was his first lucid statement since Sey'les arrived on the bridge. "I was wrong and you, my onion-brained predator friend, you were right."

"HE'S GOING INTO CARDIAC ARREST!" one of the technicians yelled in alarm.

"Let's get him to the sickbay," the medical droid said in a calm robotic voice.

Clahra followed them running holding Suldor's arm. Again, no one had even invited her to come along. Clahra just went wherever she wanted whether or not it made any sense.

Sey'les looked sadly at Suldor's gurney as the technicians and the medical droid hauled him away. Her feelings were very mixed. Sey'les could not fight the suspicion that this arrogant Mon Calamari was having a mental crisis, now evolving into a full-on medical crisis, because of her. _He could not stand that I was right. Pathetic._

"Ahem," Captain Ozzel interrupted the commotion. "Agents, pilots, crew, High Commission staff! The show is over. The. Show. Is. Over."

Sey'les returned to her seat. A few engineers entered the bridge and started noisily scanning the stations Suldor had destroyed.

"We just got confirmation," Captain Ozzel said with a sigh. "A speeder dropped off Master Tursk's body in front of the ruins of the High Commission building and left."

Several people gasped and a few of the civilians started sobbing.

Sey'les put her head between her knees, taking deep breaths while seated. _This is just too kriffing much_ , she thought angrily. She looked back up.

Savit had raised his hand again. Captain Ozzel looked at him and nodded in recognition.

"Well Captain," Savit answered. "What I was saying before is still of some relevance. Have you thought of using the video footage the Assembly sent us? Perhaps we could identify where the Assembly _had held_ her. I noticed a window of some sort in the background Captain."

"Very good question and suggestion Agent. Yes, we have already thought of it, and yes, we will look into that. Any other questions? Any questions from the teams who are on the transports up? You can ask too."

Wulf's familiar Ardennian voice echoed into the room from the comm "Captain, respectfully sir, I think this calls for a change in our ROEs. These kriffing bastards know we will only shoot them with stun and won't use lethal force. It gives them an incentive to attack us because they know that worst-case scenario, they get knocked out and arrested. I suggest, respectfully, we change our ROEs."

"That was not a question Agent," Ozzel said gruffly in response to Wulf's vulgarity, "but I agree. As the acting head of the taskforce, I now authorise lethal force. If any of them attack you, you are authorised to shoot them with lethal blaster or slug fire. Furthermore, I am not only authorising defensive lethal force, but pre-emptive lethal force. If you have good reason to believe you will be attacked, shoot them. Obviously, if you injure one, or one of them surrenders, capture them per your Judicial Code and Republic laws."

This time all of the Agents in the room including Sey'les let off a "Hooah" without being prompted by her. Sey'les felt a feeling of relief—shooting at this blatant display of evil with lethal firepower would be so much easier than trying to placate it or stun it and wait for it to wake up.

"Well then Agents, Team Muun, when the rest of you arrive, you can retire to your quarters. Team leaders, get some sleep. We will have another briefing at 0700 hours with you planning our next step," Captain Ozzel concluded.

"Sure thing, Captain," Savit replied

"Yes, Captain," Sey'les replied. As she stood up, she realised her legs were shaking from fear and adrenaline.


	16. Itoll Oc'nel

Aboard the _Agarath_

ALPHERIDIES was the strangest world Oc'nel had ever read or heard about. He had no idea what to make of the terms describing the planet on his datapad such as **"plant-analog."**

"If you want to leave the ship to visit the planet's surface you will have to leave your ranged weapons here—"

"— _waa-yug egh rrashrakrrykap ma gugukras_? _!"_ _do I need to get rid of my weapons?!_ Awerl interrupted, asking in an alarmed voice.

Pax answered in a mix of Basic and Shyriiwook "No Awerl. No, you only need to leave your weapons here. You don't need to get rid of your weapons. _Na waa oh rrashrakrrykap oh gugukras._ Your weapons should be in the armoury anyways Agent!"

" _Uma masha,_ " Awerl replied in a sad voice.

Oc'nel rolled his eyes, but his injured eye hurt, and he regretted it.

"Anyways, as I was saying," Jazal started, "ranged weapons are banned on the surface of Alpheridies, even for law enforcement. Because visible light is harmful for many lifeforms on the surface, all arrivals descend into Fospol on the space elevator. There is no spaceport on the surface. Visible light is allowed within city limits of Fospol and other towns on the planet. Visible light is also is allowed on the side of the planet facing away from Aber, the sun, the side that has very little life and is mostly ice. Any questions?"

"How do we get around on the planet?" Carver asked.

"I was going to get to that…" Jazal said, "There is a train network connecting all towns on the side of Alpheridies facing Aber. Alternately, you can walk through numerous trails connecting the cities, while using infrared binoculars or a local guide."

"Are we allowed to stay on board?" Driffu asked.

"You would rather stay aboard than visit Alpheridies?" Jazal asked.

Driffu snickered, "Master Jedi, hanging out on a planet with zero light is not my idea of a fun time. Some of us have eyes."

Oc'nel winced in anticipation of drama. To his surprise though, Jazal did not take any offense from Driffu's goading.

"Aren't you force sensitive Driffu?" Jazal asked in a calm tone.

"I don't talk about it," Driffu replied.

"If I were you Driffu, I would want to go to Alpheridies to practice wayfinding only using the force instead of my eyes, but sure whatever. Why not sit up here for a week? It's not like you've been sitting here for a month… Averross? Can Driffu stay aboard?"

Averross jolted awake "uh what?!"

"Can Driffu stay aboard?"

Averross scratched his mangy, thin, grey beard. "That's a negative Driffu. The ship's gettin' repaired. You can stay aboard the station though if you like. We are gettin' our repairs in Alpheridies station—"

"—which is the station connected to the space elevator," Jazal interjected, to clarify.

"Oooohh," Oc'nel said, understanding dawning on him. He scrolled over the image of Alpheridies on his datapad. Looking past the clouds to a terrain map, he the vast expanse of snow on the dark side of Alpheridies he thought _Hover Skiing…_ "Jazal? Is there Hover Skiing on Alpheridies?"

"Yes Oc'nel, I was going to get to that once we described the climate—"

"—Master, is there Ice Boarding too?" Drega asked excitedly.

"Yes Drega, okay fine, we'll go to the climate," Jazal said. "The climate of Alpheridies is unique. The planet has many facts about it that are unusual for a habitable world, mostly an artefact of the nature of the star Aber. The Circumstellar Habitable Zone of Alpheridies—"

"—Jazal! I don't think the Judicials know what that is," Averross interrupted.

Everyone in the room stared at Averross.

"It means the habitable zone around a star sir," Oc'nel said with a smirk.

"I know what it means Agent! I don't need you translatin' for Jazal."

"Sorry Master," Oc'nel said.

Jazal sounded impatient now. "Okay, the area of the solar system that can have livin' stuff, that better Averross? That place is close to Aber," Jazal started. "Aber is a Red Dwarf. Red Dwarf means it is small and red. Any questions? Small and red."

At this moment, Oc'nel had difficulty containing his laughter so he laid his face on the table and put both of his hands on his snout. Pax was glaring at him. _Blast._ Rather than laughing, he held his snout shut and exhaled hard through his nostrils.

Jazal continued, "this star is so cold that the Circumstellar Habitable Zone—the place where the livin' things can evolve, is between 1,500,000 kilometres and 3,000,000 kilometres from the star's surface. Because of this, the planet is tidally locked—meaning one side always faces the sun. This, Master Averross, Awerl, Driffu, is why Oc'nel and Drega were talking about a 'dark side,' but in this case Oc'nel and Drega were not entirely correct. Dark side in this case is a misnomer. There is no visible light on the light side of the planet either. Pax, you might be able to see because there is infrared, but the rest of you won't be able to. The 'light side' is just hotter than the dark side and is not really hit by light. Any questions?"

Oc'nel raised his hand. Pax and Averross both looked like they wanted to whomp him on the head. His fur swirled nervously as he winced but kept his hand up. "Master, my datapad is talking about 'plant-analogs.' What are those?"

Pax gave a sigh of relief.

_What the hell did he think I was going to say?!_

Jazal answered with a question, "there is no visible light on Alpheridies right? None of it penetrates Alpheridies thick atmosphere—its atmosphere is about 15% thicker than Coruscant's so you might feel a headache if you don't equalise, but more importantly, it is full of aerosols that—we'll get to that later! Plant Analogs… What do plants do to generate energy Oc'nel?"

"Photosynthesis ma'am," Oc'nel answered.

"Exactly. There is no visible light on Alpheridies. All of the quote 'plants,' really plant-analogs because they aren't plants, they do photosynthesis with infrared using chlorophyll-f. Pax?"

Pax had raised his hand. "What colour would the plants—plant-analogs I mean, what colour would they be?"

"I wouldn't know. I've been on Alpheridies Pax, but I don't have any eyes," Jazal said simply.

"They're black, purple, sometimes brown Pax," Averross answered to everyone's surprise.

"You've been to Alpheridies?!" Jazal asked in shock.

"Yep," Averross said simply.

"All right," Jazal continued "many of the plant-analogs are edible and most of them produce oxygen and breathe CO2, like real plants do. Most life on Alpheridies lacks eyes. A few reptiles can see in the infrared spectrum."

Oc'nel was no longer paying attention. Now that he understood what 'plant-analogs' were, he was reading further in his datapad and looking excitedly at a climate map of Alpheridies. The warmest climate seemed to be a ring around the central mountains on the side facing Aber—mountains formed by Aber constant pulling on Alpheridies. The climate of the warmest ring was desert in parts, humid jungle in others. Further out were more temperate zones, grasslands, and farmland cultivating swamps of edible and oxygen-producing algae-analogs, as well as imported crops in artificially lit greenhouses. Most of the water on the planet was frozen on the dark side. During summer months, parts of the dark side warmed, melting the snow, and the rainy season started. Occasionally it would snow in some parts of the bright side of Alpheridies. The planet lacked a molten core and tectonic activity was shaped by the gravity of Abron and the systems single other planet, a gas giant called Lom. Winter on Alpheridies happened one season of the year when Lom was behind Alpheridies, pulling it 10% further from the star. Summer conversely happened when Lom pulled Alpheridies 10% closer to Aber, when Lom was behind Aber.

Oc'nel snapped out of his datapad once he heard Averross's voice. Averross had replaced Jazal at the head of the table. "So, we are all taking shore leave got it? The ship is gettin' repaired as I said before so there is nothin' to do anyways. I am sure we can get free accommodation at the Jedi Temple in Fospol. If you go elsewhere, you'll have to pay for it. Extraction Team Cresh?"

All of Extraction Team Cresh except Awerl said "Yes sir?"

"We will all meet in the Jedi Temple in Fospol. Its location is on your datapads along with a map of the whole planet."

"All of us Master?" Pax asked.

"Yes Agent, all of you. I decided that we are all briefing the entire Jedi High Council via the Jedi secure HoloNet channel and they may have questions from any one of us. Oh! Higil, Soqes, Kier?!"

"Yes sir?" Higil asked.

"Yes Master?" Kier and Soqes asked.

"You need to come too. You were on the away mission to Rhen Var Station and they may want to talk to you too."

_Damn that is going to be one disorganised and crowded briefing,_ Oc'nel thought.

* * *

Pax had cornered Oc'nel in the hall immediately after the briefing.

"Oc'nel," Pax said sternly, "try to stay on Master Averross's good side. It reflects poorly on me when you can't maintain a Judicial Bearing during a briefing. I already have Awerl and Driffu acting up, and for the most part, there's nothing I can do about that."

"Sorry Pax," Oc'nel sighed.

"I know it's annoying having to work with Master Nerf Herder over there," Pax said tilting his head to the right in Averross's direction. "Hopefully, after this, we'll get an assignment with no Jedi or any Jedi but him."

Oc'nel laughed hard at the 'Master Nerf Herder' comment but contained it quickly, snapping his snout shut.

"It's one thing to screw a Jedi Oc'nel—"

"—what are you talking about?!" Oc'nel whispered in a panic. He felt the lid of his bad eye brush his eyepatch as his eyes went wide.

"—it's one thing to kriff a Jedi," Pax whispered back harshly with his narrow Duros mouth in angry frown, "it's another to get involved in their Jedi politics. That is way above your paygrade. I'd rather have Jazal as the mission leader than Averross too, but do not ever side with her in a briefing against Averross. It's none of my business, but if I figured out you guys have done it, Averross certainly has too and he could report Jazal.

Oc'nel hung his head sadly, his fur swirling nervously.

"I doubt that spice-head would," Pax continued, "because he has far more skeletons in the closet than Jazal, but I can tell it gets Jazal angry too though when you side with her or say things to make Averross look stupid, got it? So, stop. That's an order."

"Yes sir," Oc'nel sighed.

"How's your eye feeling?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, but I feel ridiculous with this stupid white eyepatch," Oc'nel admitted while he tugged on the eyepatch. "Sometimes I accidentally scrape the side of my face on things."

The ship jolted as they exited hyperspace.

"Well, ready to see this thing?" Pax asked.

"Yep," Oc'nel replied, his nervously swirling fur relaxing.

Oc'nel, Pax, Higil, Soqes, Driffu and Jazal cramped themselves onto the first turbolift to the bridge. The others waited for the next one.

"Well Master, we've arrived," Rama said from her station as they walked onto the bridge.

Jazal took a seat and pulled put her Shadowsync. Oc'nel watched her feel the screen.

"Whoa…" he said as he instead looked towards the main viewer. It was one thing to see Aber on a tiny datapad, another to see it on a giant screen. Aber was glowing in a shade of red so dark it almost looked black. A small black blob obscured a part of Aber which Oc'nel guessed was Alpheridies. The blob was getting closer as they neared Aber.

A few minutes later the black blob expanded to the size of a planet. The _Agarath_ swung into orbit and quickly manoeuvred to the side facing the sun.

Averross and the others began arriving onto the bridge. "Right Rama," Averross said, "pull us up to Alpheridies Station, I'll hail them. Alpheridies Station, this is the _Agarath_ requesting internal docking and repairs. Clearance Number 987935."

"Very well _Agarath_ , your Diplomatic Clearance has been accepted you are clear to pull into portal 1."

A massive station the shape of a spinning top slowly merged into view. It was an ugly smattering of all sorts of colours, clearly painted by beings without eyes who just threw whatever spare space paint they had on it. A thin shaft connected the top into the dark planet below. Many lights were visible from its windows, and a big circular portal on the top half emitted a yellow light. The portal became bigger and bigger on the main viewer as the _Agarath_ drew nearer. Eventually, it was possible to see the interior—a massive cylindrical room with repair scaffolding on the walls. Cranes of various sizes were mounted on parts of the scaffolding.

"Is there a Cantina and a Commissary here on Alpheridies Station Master?" Driffu asked.

"Yes, there is."

"Alright, I'm staying here," Driffu said. "Anyone else staying?"

Oc'nel looked at her with a scowl. "Uh… No."

Shortly thereafter, Driffu received a "no," "nope," from everyone on the bridge and a " _na_ " from Awerl.

"Na Awerl? Really? You'll regret it," Driffu echoed prophetically through her gas mask.

Awerl roared at her in annoyance.

"I am telling you Awerl. Stay up here."

" _Na_ ," Awerl roared.

Driffu cackled, getting several odd glances.

Fojo was inspecting a set of infrared binoculars.

"Right everyone… Judicials, it would probably be best if you put on civilian attire, we are on shore leave 'member?" Averross suddenly said.

To Oc'nel's surprise, Jazal approached him and whispered. "Itoll, I want you to pack for a hike. Pack your ruck with wet-weather clothes, boots, and enough canteens to hold enough water for you for a day."

"All right. Master, I wanted to go skiing, maybe we could—" Oc'nel started.

"—no Itoll, if you want to hang out with me on Alpheridies instead of Drega or Higil, we are going on a hike first. Maybe we can do some other stuff later," she said firmly.

Oc'nel thought about this for a few seconds. He looked at Drega fumbling around with a datapad with his bandaged fingers. _Skiing with Drega or…? I guess I am hiking._

* * *

The Judicials and crew of the _Agarath_ rode the massive hangar-sized turbolift down to the surface of Alpheridies. The moment Oc'nel had stepped onto the station, he felt a more familiar gravity.

Sharing the enormous space elevator with them was an entirely Rodian crew of thirty. They were dressed in hunting garb and carried an assortment of swords and knives.

Fojo was talking away with the Rodian hunters and everyone else was staring out of one of the transparisteel walls.

Jazal stood next to Oc'nel with a completely blank expression facing the window.

Pax's version of civilian attire was farmer-looking clothes under a dark brown trenchcoat, ridiculous boots with spurs that forced him to walk bow-legged, and a huge ridiculous black wide-brimmed Duros hat. He carried all of his belongings in his rucksack, as did all of the other Extraction Agents.

Kier and Higil had each packed suitcases, while almost everyone else had backpacks.

Averross and Carver were dressed remarkably similar now that Carver had gotten back into civilian attire. Averross had not changed his clothes from the briefing.

Carver wore a tank top showing off his fire tattoos.

Jazal was wearing Jedi Robes.

Oc'nel had slapped on a pair of cargo pants and a tan sweater with a yellow stripe down each sleeve.

Awerl was wearing his usual attire. He wore nothing except for a Peacekeeping badge hung around his neck showing he had law enforcement authority, and a belt holding a single datapad poking out of his woolly Wookiee fur. He had no belongings at all with him, no bag, and no boots.

_What a weirdo!_ _Does he even brush his teeth?!_ Oc'nel wondered as he stared at the Wookiee.

Pax walked up to Oc'nel and asked, "You know what I am doing as soon we land?"

"The cantina?!" Oc'nel chuckled. "It's three in the afternoon Coruscant time."

"Yeah three in the afternoon on a planet that is perpetually darker than night, on a planet that is tidally-locked, so there are no days, and a planet with no visible light," Pax grinned.

"I am going to check out the temple first. Later this week, when all of the briefings are done, I am going on a hike," Oc'nel said with a smile.

Jazal let off an angry sigh.

Oc'nel gulped.

"A hike?!" Pax asked. "There's nothing to see and they don't allow visible light outside of the cities Oc'nel. Where are you hiking?"

"Oh well," _blast what do I say?!_ "I guess by _hike_ I really meant um…" Oc'nel stammered, "skiing. I meant skiing."

"All right Agent," Pax said looking at him, then looking back at Jazal suspiciously "stay safe out there. I don't want you to get eaten by some infrared-seeing lizard."

"You're going skiing? I am definitely hitting the slopes on my ice-board," Drega interjected. "Perhaps we can go together? Just don't go too slow in front of me."

"Yeah maybe," Oc'nel said nervously scratching the fur on the back of his neck and wincing. _Maybe not. Definitely not. I am hiking._

Outside of the space elevator windows, in the upper layers of Alpheridies' atmosphere, everything looked dark red except for the few points of starlight emerging from the surrounding nebulae. As they descended into the clouds everything became pitch black; as dark as the interior of a cave.

"Whoaaa…" Oc'nel said as he looked out at the pure darkness.

As the minutes went on, Oc'nel did not feel bored or confined himself, but he started feeling everyone else's impatience. Awerl paced nervously, Drega, Higil, and most of the _Agarath's_ crew looked bored.

"Currency. Currency!" Jazal said the first word calmly but the second word loudly, breaking the silence. Everyone turned and looked at her, including the Rodians. "I am sorry everyone, I forgot to mention currency in the briefing. As you know, Miraluka lack eyes. Some vendors will accept Republic credits, credit chips, or debit codes, but most only accept Miralukan Credits because they can be verified by touch. You can withdraw Miralukan Credits using your credit chips at many banks and terminals. No one accepts Republic credit cash payments."

"Blast Jazal, you scared me," Averross grunted gruffly. "Get a grip on yourself Jedi!"

Awerl groaned something incomprehensible.

Pax chuckled, clearly trying to get on Averross's good side.

_I bet I know who else is hitting the cantina,_ Oc'nel thought.

The space elevator finally emerged out of the pitch-black clouds. Far below, lights from a city could be seen forming the shape of a city grid. Around the city however, there was nothing visible. The city itself was almost like a beacon of light on a completely dark landscape in every direction. As the elevator lowered, through the floor windows, Oc'nel could now make out individual structures including a lit wall around the base of the space elevator.

After ten more minutes, the elevator groaned to a halt. One of the huge walls fell outwards like a ramp and everyone stepped down it and proceeded to the weirdest immigration, customs, and security station in the Galaxy.

There were four Miralukas dressed in black with necklaces holding placards that said 'Immigration and Security.' They held batons and just stood there. Oc'nel could almost feel them all reaching out to him using the Force, probing his bags, his clothes, his innards. It was one of the most unnerving feelings he had ever experienced. They pulled one of the Rodians to the side and started asking him about weapons. Everyone else walked through.

"Now that was unnerving," Oc'nel said aloud once they had gotten through security.

"You're telling me," Carver said in agreement.

Jazal and Averross both laughed a little bit.

"What's so funny?" Pax asked.

"Ah, Temple security is just like that," Averross said, "only not as… hostile."

"You mean the three times I went to the Jedi Temple I was probed like that?!" Pax asked.

"Yep," Averross replied.

"This entire population is Force sensitive, at least the Miraluka, keep that in mind during your interactions with them everyone," Jazal said cautiously.

Fojo gave an ironic "hoooo-aahhh" in his most wimpy-sounding voice as if teasing Judicials who yelled _hooah_ in response to orders. Most of the group laughed.

The group began splitting off in different directions once they reached the street. The buildings in the city were the ugliest buildings Oc'nel had ever seen. The street was not lit well enough to make out the entire surfaces of most buildings, but most lacked windows completely and were painted in the most random mixes of colours, often rainbow-ish in parts until the colours all melted together into an ugly brown. The town was, as Jazal had said, a town. The only skyscraper was the space elevator.

"That's the Alpheridies Republic High Commission buildin'," Averross pointed towards a three-storey building which was painted ugly like the rest, but which had windows many of which were lit. "If you get into a fight or something and need legal help, then talk to them. I ain't balin' you yokels out," Averross said sternly.

_If anyone is getting into a fight, I bet 10 credits it will be Averross,_ Oc'nel thought to himself.

Awerl roared triumphantly, pointing to his Peacekeeping badge as if it were a pass that let him do anything.

"Whoa…." Oc'nel said as he saw a strange building.

"Cut that out Oc'nel! It makes you sound so kriffing dumb," Pax said sternly.

"Sorry but look!" he pointed excitedly towards a grey very well-lit building with floodlights coming down on it from streetlights above. Several green Corellian bushes were planted along the walls of the building, able to survive under the floodlight. A giant sign over the door **"New Coronet Cantina"** and was one of the very few visible signs. "Pax, how much you wanna bet whoever runs that establishment has eyes?" Oc'nel asked.

"Yeah… I agree," Pax said pausing to marvel at it.

On any other planet a boring Corellian-style building would be so unremarkable. Here it looked beautiful. The organised logical paint job where all of the walls were one colour contrasted with the chaotic mess of paint on the other structures.

"Well, I am going there," Pax said. His facial expression almost looked like that of an insect drawn towards the light in darkness.

"I am coming too," Carver said.

Averross rudely pushed past both of them and started making a beeline to the door with Fojo following.

With Averross facing away and walking towards the door, Carver flashed a very rude hand gesture in Averross's direction. Averross did not seem to notice.

Oc'nel struggled to suppress yet another laugh. _Blast! Why does everyone have to be so funny?!_

"Okay Pax, I am going to go to the temple and put my things there."

"So am I," Jazal said, "we will see you later maybe Pax and Carver."

"You sure you and Oc'nel don't wanna hang out here with some redneck characters like Carver, myself, and Master Averross?" Pax said in his thickest redneck Duros accent while touching the rim of his hat. "It'll be fun!"

"Uh no Pax," Oc'nel replied. "I grew up on Botha'ahir. I grew up with rednecks. That sounds like hell."

Pax and Carver laughed.

"Well, we'll see you later," Carver said.

"Bye!" Jazal replied

"See you," Oc'nel said.

"Bye," Pax said.

After the others all left out of what Oc'nel assumed was earshot, he asked "hiking? Jazal, I thought you said sex was just a one-time thing and I was cool with that. No emotional attachments and Jedi mumbo jumbo and whatnot."

"Yeah well, Bothan, you look a hell of a lot cuter after that Koorivar stepped on your face. I cannot resist," Jazal said tugging his chin to force him to look into her eyeless face.

"I— what?! You can't even see!" Oc'nel said indignantly.

"Haha! I am joking…" Jazal said as she grabbed his hand and started tugging him.

"Where are we going Jazal?"

"The temple, we were telling the truth about that part. We have to hang around here for the next few days for our briefings anyways. We all have one tomorrow and then Averross and I have another one in two days."

"Okay," Oc'nel smiled with relief. "So, we're not hiking?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh no Itoll, we're hiking. Why do I sense fear?" she asked.

"Well Jazal… walking in the dark for hours sounds pretty dangerous. Besides I won't be able to see so it's not like I will be able to _see_ any of the planet."

"Sometimes, facing your fears and expanding your boundaries is a good thing Bothan," Jazal said in her sage Jedi lecturer voice. "There is also a lot to smell and feel, you have a very good, very cute, nose I might add, and I want to do a little experiment with you."

"Experiment?! Do I get to consent to this Master, or have we just decided my opinion doesn't matter?"

"Of course your opinion matters. Relax. If you disagree, it's fine. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. For now, we need to get to the Jedi Temple and prepare ourselves for the briefing. Averross, and the others may get drunk, but we need to stay sober and be the voices of reason tomorrow if they are all hung over," Jazal said as she increased her pace.

"Master Nerf Herder hung over?! I'd never believe it," Oc'nel said, stealing Pax's 'Master Nerf Herder' description of Averross.

Jazal laughed a little but added in a serious tone: "Agent, you really need to respect your superiors more."


	17. Chapter 17

Aboard the _Judicator_

Sey'les awoke to a bang on her door. She looked at her chronometer and it said "0500." _What the…_ Sniffing the air, Sey'les smelled the scaly humid skin of a Trandoshan. _WHAT!_

The door knocked more furiously and a familiar voiced hissed in an angry whisper "Sey'les!"

Sey'les gulped in terror. With increasing alarm, she thought, _Is Hrelduussk here to eat my soul or something?!_

"SEY'LES," the whisper got louder turning into a pointless shout-whisper, as loud as modal speech.

Blinking, Sey'les slapped herself. _No this is not a dream._

"I'm… coming?" she said in a question.

All of the blasters on the ship were stored in the armoury but Sey'les kept a taser in her the top pouch of her rucksack, just in case. She held the taser in one hand and put it behind her back.

"Sey'les," Hrelduussk said impatiently.

Sey'les opened the door. As she did, it occurred to her that she could have called security.

"Come, I need your help!" he hissed urgently.

"What?" Sey'les yawned in relief, "What! How did you… wha—"

"—I have no time to explain Bothan," Hrelduussk whispered back walking urgently out.

Sey'les followed but then realised she was following without shoes, while wearing pyjamas. "Uh, Hrelduussk!" she tugged on his wrist, "let me get dressed!"

"Okay, don't tarry!" he commanded.

Sey'les closed her door and began hurriedly putting on a clean uniform, sliding on her socks, and putting on her boots. As she became more awake, she realised more and more how completely stupid it was that she was obeying Hrelduussk with no explanation. The whole situation made no sense. _Okay, so he doesn't want to hurt me. Why I am I listening to him?!_

"Hrelduussk," she said after she opened her door, now dressed in blues.

"Yesss?"

"Where are we going?" she demanded in a loud voice.

"Shhhh," hissed in an angry whisper, moving one dry clawed finger over her snout. "To my patrol craft."

She followed him down the hallway and decided: _I will ask a few more questions, and if I don't get satisfactory answers, I will call security_.

"Uh, why are we going to your patrol craft? How did you breach our security?"

"We need to rescue my family!" he whispered in an angry hiss, not answering Sey'les's second question.

Sey'les stopped and blinked twice. "Wha—What?! I thought they were being evacuated to Skyhook 1?"

"No," Hrelduussk hissed. "After the Assembly leaked every cop in Port Semba's address, almost everyone deserted."

"Deserted?!"

"Yesss, they got in the next transport and left. It is anarchy on the ground in Port Semba and the surrounding areas," Hrelduussk explained. "I went home to get my wife and hatchlings and they were gone. The house had been broken into."

Sey'les snapped awake. "What?! How are we going to rescue them? Do you know where they are?"

Hrelduussk hissed "a group of thugs are saying if I pay double their bounty, they will release my family. When I told this to my superiors, they said they were being held too far outside of the city to mount a rescue at the moment. Tomorrow they are sending in the Antarian military, but I will not wait that long."

"Do you have that many credits on hand?"

"No, but I have stolen 20,000 Separatist Credits worth of spice from the evidence locker."

Sey'les gasped in shock. She stepped into one of the _Judicator's_ hangars and saw a small cargo transport painted in police colours. It looked like one of the ones police often used to haul groups prisoners for short distances. The cockpit doors were external to the ship and the rear could be opened, allowing for pilots to enter and leave without having to walk through a group of prisoners locked in the rear.

Hrelduussk stepped in and Sey'les followed.

"Wait I don't even have a—"

Hrelduussk handed her a small DC-17 blaster.

Sey'les took it, instinctively checking the power bank. _It's full, good!_ She thought, _Hey! None of this is good! I have to wake up in two hours for the mission brief—hey! I didn't ask for permission to leave the ship, didn't tell anyone I was going, didn't—_ _BLAST_ _._

"Wait!" Sey'les yelled in alarm as Hrelduussk pulled out of the hangar. They were already flying up and over the _Judicator._ "I need to tell my chain of command where I am going, and I need to ask for authorisation! This is crazy Hrelduussk!"

"No one is keeping you from using the comm Sey'les," Hrelduussk hissed in annoyance. "It is a waste of time. They don't even know you are gone."

Sey'les dialled in the channel to call the operations desk. She had no idea who would be in charge at this hour.

A male voice asked, "Who is this?!"

"This is Muun Leader," Sey'les growled nervously. "I am requesting permission to conduct a rescue in… where are we going?"

"Port Ahard," Hrelduussk answered.

"Port Ahard," Sey'les growled.

"This is Judicator 1-3, Muun Leader, what is your current position?"

"Um…" Sey'les croaked while wincing. Her fur swirled with guilt and nervousness. "Judicator 1-3, I am in an Antar police cruiser with Lieutenant Hrelduussk. We are flying right by the bridge perhaps you can see us on your monitor."

"Muun Leader you did not have permission to leave the ship!" the voice yelled alarmed.

"I am really sorry," Sey'les said with a wave of embarrassment washing over her. _I am so stupid. How did this even happen? How could I do this?!_

"Muun Leader, I do not have permission to authorise any Republic presence on the surface. I will have to clear with Judicator Actual. Who has uh _left their post_ with you?" the male voice said, emphasising 'left their post.'

"It's," Sey'les sighed, "it's just me and an Antarian police officer named Hrelduussk, Lieutenant Hrelduussk as I said."

"Solid copy," the voice from the bridge said.

As they neared the moon, Sey'les could see dozens of lights from vessels leaving Temba Port. Some areas of Antar 4 still had light visible from space, but the area Temba Port was in was dark. One Antarian vessel, and then another, passed them by on their way into the atmosphere. It felt very much like Hrelduussk was flying against traffic.

Hrelduussk said nothing and Sey'les was waiting with dread. _I'm so screwed… I'm so screwed… I'm so screwed… I'm—_

"—AGENT! WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Captian Ozzel's voice boomed into the comm.

Hrelduussk hissed a cynical exasperated laugh. "Told you, useless."

"I am so sorry Actual. Hrelduussk, he… he seemed like he needed help. They got his family." As she explained herself, her actions felt even more insane.

"Are you on Spice Agent?!"

"Of course not, Captain!" _We have many tens of thousands of credits worth of spice in the back,_ she wanted to admit, but didn't.

Sey'les started realising something. "Captain, with all due respect, did you not have any plan in place to help our Antarian allies who were so crucial for the whole taskforce?"

"Well Agent, I—uh," Captain Ozzel stuttered into the open channel.

"Exactly," Sey'les growled cautiously.

"That task is for the Antarian police to—" Ozzel started.

"—the whole police force has practically melted away, Captain," Hrelduussk hissed angrily.

"You are?" Captain Ozzel asked.

"Lieutenant Hrelduussk."

"Well I—uh…" Captain Ozzel started again.

Sey'les could hear a discussion happening in the background.

"Well Captain, it may very well save our Public Relations outlook if Sey'les rescues that cop's family! The Chancellor would be very happy."

"This is either insubordination or—"

"—sheer unadulterated stupidity."

"Do you think she will be safe?!"

"No—"

"—well she is one of our best marksmen. I'd bet she could best—"

"—without a team?!"

"You have a point."

"Very well Muun Leader. Agent Sey'les, I am going to be frank. This is insanity, insubordination, incredibly stupid and bordering on desertion. I cannot believe it, but I am authorising this. If you end up needing a rescue Agent prepare to be dragged to a Senate hearing, along with me."

"Solid copy Actual, and thanks!" Sey'les said with a beaming smile of relief. "Muun Leader will be comm silent until we finish rescuing Hrelduussk's family."

"Very well, Agent, bring them back to Hangar 7 when you finish."

"I think your Captain is even stupider than Wulf," Hrelduussk hissed in frustration after Sey'les hung up. He banged his hands on the steering wheel.

"Hey! I will not tolerate you bad-mouthing my team or my captain. We are helping you. He just authorised me to help you, and I am risking my career and he is risking his. We left without you even telling me all of the details! You should be grateful Hre—"

"—you fools got us all into this mess! Not you specifically Sey'les, but that Suldor… your ssstupid Jedi Master, I don't see him volunteering to help at all, do you? Blood is on his hands Sey'les," Hrelduussk hissed completely incensed.

"Master Suldor had a… a mental breakdown and a…" Sey'les sighed, "a heart attack. I am not sure he is even alive anymore." Sey'les felt guilty that she had not asked about Suldor's status. She sighed. "You are right Hrelduussk. What Suldor did was irresponsible and—"

"—you were right too Sey'les. That Master Jedi lacked any… perssspective. It was all 'the Force' this and 'the Force' that. Everyone, even you Sey'les, could see something was wrong but he could not because the Force did not tell him something was wrong. He was no longer using his own two eyes."

"I… I know." Sey'les admitted. "I am sorry we put your family in danger," she said almost with a sob.

"At leassst you are helping," Hrelduussk hissed. "Thank you."

"Hrelduussk, maybe if we hung around longer… maybe the Captain could have authorised us more help."

"Maybe, but he might have also locked me in the brig for breaking in, and he might have waited until morning. I will not wait that long."

"So, what's the plan?" Sey'les asked.

"Well, it is obviousss that the thugs just want to kill me and are using them as bait."

"Why do you say that?" Sey'les asked.

"It is obviousss…" Hrelduussk hissed angrily, as if that answered Sey'les's question. "There is a bounty on my head. These thugs will kill me, take my bounty, and try to steal whatever ransom I brought them. I told them I was coming alone to meet them at the Star One storage units. You, my tiny, sneaky, Bothan friend, will sneak into the storage unit while I dissstract them. They probably won't even be able to see you."

Sey'les gulped. Her fur pressed in on her in fear.

"WHAT?!" Hrelduussk hissed impatiently.

"So, it is just you and me? How many of them are there?!"

"Only three Sey'les, only three." Hrelduussk hissed reassuringly.

"All right… so I'm still confused…" _Great. A bad plan too!_

"Here," Hrelduussk hissed handing her a datapad. It had a map on it, three figures outside, and then a storage unit emanating a lighter whitish infrared heat signature in comparison to the other storage units.

"Where did you get this intel?!" Sey'les demanded to know.

"Before I flew up to get you, I snapped a picture from my patrol craft. All of them are equipped with an infrared camera and night-vision scopes," Hrelduussk hissed.

"Impressive," Sey'les said.

Hrelduussk pointed forward towards the cockpit window, "there."

The whole city except for Skyhook 1 was dark, save for a few fires burning on the streets. They crossed over the bay behind the Temba Port peninsula towards another dark city.

"Uh Hrelduussk…"

"Yesss?" he hissed.

"Bothans can't see as well as Trandoshans in the dark."

Hrelduussk dropped something on her.

Sey'les said "Ooof!" as she caught it, but not soon enough to prevent it from landing hard on her sternum and breasts.

"Infrared," Hrelduussk hissed. "Now you'll be able to see better than a Trandoshan in the dark."

_Rude._ "Um… thanks," she said as she picked these awkwardly heavy goggles up and set them on her snout in front of her eyes. Now she could make out white heat-colours emanating from the ground. It was clearly not made for a Bothan's face.

"Yesss, I know all Bothan females are Tetrachromats and so are most Bothan males," Hrelduussk explained.

"Tetrachromats?" Sey'les asked in shock.

Hrelduussk put his claw on his head in frustration. "It means you have four colour rods in your eyes. It makes you better at differentiating colours but worse at seeing in the dark than a dichromat or trichromat. Despite this, most ultraviolet can't be perceived because your Bothan lens evolved—"

"—lens?!"

"Why are we talking about this? Quit it with your Bothan yammering—"

"—quit being such an ass," Sey'les snarled lifting her binoculars off her snout and glaring at Hrelduussk. "I came along to help. I didn't have to help. How the kriff do you know this stuff about Bothans that I don't even know?!"

Hrelduussk gave a weary chuckle. "On Trandosha, I was not a cop but a science teacher. The fact Bothans are tetrachromats is literally in every children's science textbook. If you read a book—"

"—I said quit being an ass," Sey'les growled.

Hrelduussk lowered the ship towards the ground in an empty spot one street over from the water, but near enough for Sey'les to notice the sloshing noise of water splashing on the docks. The storage facility was across the street from the cargo haulers lined up along the docks, which were behind Sey'les.

"Get out here and approach the storage unit from this side. I'll land over on the other side and distract them."

"What! I thought I was sneaking out and around—"

"—Sey'les, I showed you a map with your approach highlighted. You need to pay attention and stop arguing about Bothan eyes. Here, keep it!" Hrelduussk hissed angrily handing her the datapad.

Reluctantly, Sey'les hopped out and landed with onto the pavement behind an abandoned roadblock.

Hrelduussk's ship flew overhead, raising a little bit higher to clear the storage units about 100 meters away, then landed on the other side. Through her infrared, Sey'les could see several pale white lit-up figures in between the storage units. One of the storage units was glowing a ghostly white. _Well, that's definitely more than three!_

_Ugh this is sooooo stupid. I am so stupid! How did this happen?_ With Hrelduussk's huge domineering presence gone, renewed doubts began flooding Sey'les's mind. _Why am I listening to that big lizard? I am a team leader for crying out loud!_

Sey'les looked both ways up and down the street and saw no one. She then ran towards the fence to the storage units, the infrared binoculars awkwardly forcing her snout down to the ground from the weight. An annoying logo appeared in the righthand corner of her vision: **Nightvision—Powered by StrataCorp.** _Okay let's focus…_

Hrelduussk was beginning to land and all of the figures turned to look at his ship. Sey'les ran down the alleyway between all of the storage units and could see six or seven figures walking towards Hrelduussk's ship. No one seemed to notice her. _Hrelduussk's plan is working, all right._

Sey'les turned into the open storage unit that was glowing with heat—no—a light _blast!_ Lifting her binoculars up onto her head, she looked and could see a Gotal facing away from her, staring into a modular cage used to divide storage units. In the cage were four Trandoshans, a green Trandoshan female, a big red Trandoshan girl, and two big Trandoshan boys about Sey'les's size, one a bit taller—one was red, one was green. They were all sleeping in a wild-looking lizard pile.

_Hmmm… Sharing heat…_ Sey'les suspected. Approaching the Gotal from behind, she stood about 2 meters behind him, outside of his immediate reach, and whisper-yelled "DROP YOUR BLASTER! TURN AROUND!"

The Gotal immediately spun around aiming his blaster straight into her face.

Sey'les fired twice into his chest and he yelled, going down with two burning holes. Sey'les had only ever killed two other beings in her entire career.

Outside someone yelled "HEY! Check that out—Wait, Hrelduussk, we only wanna negotiate. Wait—ahhh!" blaster fire went off from six blasters at once. Sey'les could hear it ricocheting off storage units and Hrelduussk's speeder.

At the same time, the female Trandoshan awoke and hissed "Who?"

Ignoring her, Sey'les pulled her infrared back on and peered around the corner. Hrelduussk had taken out two of them. Two Koorivars and two Gotals stood in the entryway to shut storage units, taking cover in their doorframes. Sey'les felt her legs trembling from adrenaline. _Snap out of it!_ She took a deep breath and began methodically shooting them in the back. She had never shot anyone in the back before.

The last one realised what was happening and let off a scream as she spun around to face Sey'les. A blaster shot went right through the female Koorivar's face and she collapsed silently, slumping below a smoking hole in the doorframe of the storage unit.

"All clear!" Sey'les yelled.

"Shusshhhh!" Hrelduussk hissed furiously.

Hrelduussk cautiously approached Sey'les and gave her a scratchy clawed pat on the head. "Good job Sey'les."

Sey'les felt preoccupied. _Should I feel guilty? I just gunned down five beings… four in the back._

"Sey'les, come on," he hissed "It gets easier."

She followed him back to the cage.

"Hrelduussk!"

"Dad!"

"Yay—"

"—Shush!" Hrelduussk whispered furiously.

Hrelduussk's family did not seem bothered by the violence at all, just relieved to be rescued and reunited.

_Do Trandoshans feel fear or remorse?!_ Sey'les wondered in alarm. _Well… I suppose Hrelduussk sounded scared on the Judicator._

Sey'les looked up and Hrelduussk was in a big lizard hug with his whole family. "This is—" Hrelduussk started hissing.

"—Agent Sey'les," she interjected.

"Nice to meet you, I am Shosseth, my daughter Yasska, and my sons Krfisss, and Drenk."

_Drenk… Such an un-Trandoshan name!_

"What is she?" Drenk asked pointing at Sey'les.

"She's a Bothan," Shosseth said. "and she helped—

"—that's a Bothan?" Yasska asked in alarmed voice.

"Yes," Shosseth answered. "Wait till I am finished talking please Yasska. She helped save us. Thank the Bothan," she said sternly.

"Thank you Bothan," Drenk said.

"Thank you Sey'les," Yasska and Krisss said.

Shosseth squeezed Sey'les in the hardest hug she had ever felt.

* * *

When they got back to the police cruiser, to Sey'les's annoyance, Shosseth climbed into the front seat right next to Hrelduussk without even asking Sey'les if she was okay with sitting in the back. Sey'les took a seat in the back with the kids.

As they lifted off, Hrelduussk said "I have some of your things packed in the back next to the… next to the…" he paused as if not wanting to admit there was illicit spice back there, "next to the stuff."

"Hrelduussk, we should return to the _Judicator_ ," Sey'les said. "I am supposed to be at a briefing in an hour. You'll be safe there. I am sure Captain Ozzel just has some questions."

"Sey'les," Hrelduussk hissed, "this is my family and I…"

Sey'les stopped paying attention for a second. _What is that itching?_ "OW!" she exclaimed and shook her head, a Trandoshan finger was caught in her ashy shaggy head hair. "Get your claws out of my fur Krisss!"

"Hey! Krisss! Be nice to the Bothan!" Shosseth yelled.

"We used to have a Corellian Slice Hound just like you Sey'les, but she didn't have very nice fur… it was pokey and spiny." Drenk explained unironically, without a hint of sarcasm or cheekiness. He continued patting her hair without permission, but nicely without digging his claws in.

Sey'les tried ignoring it to get back to what she was saying before. "Like I said—"

"—Can we keep her dad?" Yasska asked in a serious voice.

"No Yasska you claw-brain! Sey'les is sentient. Remember what I taught you about tetrachromats?" Hrelduussk hissed.

"You're sentient?!" Yasska asked in shock.

"Yes," Sey'les growled. "Hrelduussk, take the blaster. I am worried one of your feral kids is gonna grab it out of my holster!"

"Drenk, Krisss, Yasska, Claws off her!"

Drenk and Krisss obeyed, but Yasska still had more hiss about.

"You don't sssmell sentient."

"What does that mean?!" Sey'les asked the Trandoshan child as big as she was.

"Well, I dunno… smell like… well okay. If you're sentient, then who is the main character in _Memories of Jabiim_?" Yasska asked.

"I've never read it…" Sey'les growled remembering Hrelduussk's obnoxious comment about her needing to read more books. "That doesn't prove anything!"

"It's an opera!" Yasska exclaimed.

"That's enough Yasska!" Hrelduussk hissed. "She's sentient," he said with finality.

Sey'les sat still for a second and collected her bearings. _Hrelduussk woke me up and took me on an unauthorised mission to rescue his family. My eyes have four colour rods—damn I am becoming Wulf! I shot five Antarian insurgents and now I am sitting in the back of a ship with a brood of huge rude Trandoshan cop-brats I have never seen before. Could be worse. I could be… crippled._ "Shosseth, could you sit back here? I need to use the subspace radio and talk to Hrelduussk."

"Sure Sey'les," Shosseth said, getting out of her chair.

Sey'les climbed over Krisss and scrunched into the corner of the cockpit as Shosseth squeezed by her. Sey'les then plopped down next to Hrelduussk.

"Hrelduussk, we are going back to the _Judicator_. It is safe."

"Sey'les, if it is so sssafe on the _Judicator,_ then how was I able to just fly aboard?!" Hrelduussk demanded.

"How were you able to fly—" Sey'les snapped "Never mind! That's not important. Hrelduussk. You owe it to me. I helped you save Shosseth and the kids. Maybe you could have done it on your own, but you obviously didn't think you could. Besides, I know you are leaving for Trandosha, but I am sure it would be safer for you to fly there on a Republic vessel from Coruscant than in a stolen Antarian police vessel. It's one thing to quit in the middle of a crisis when half of your planet is leaving, and it is another to fly in a vessel full of spice—"

—Shosseth gasped in shock.

Sey'les was completely bewildered by Shosseth's reaction. _That frightened you?! Being locked in a cage next to a firefight didn't scare you but that did!_

"It was part of a distraction I had—" Hrelduussk started.

"—What's spice daddy?" Yasska asked.

"Never mind," Hrelduussk hissed as he glared at Sey'les.

"You…. You…" Sey'les stuttered, "You aren't thinking straight Hrelduussk. We got lucky. Those thugs were not expecting you to ambush them, and you were right that they wouldn't notice me slip in, but we got lucky okay? I really don't think you should push your luck," _and_ _I am not about to throw away my career, abandon my team, and accompany you to a hot mucky world._

After a few seconds of silence, Sey'les spoke again, "I am certain the Captain will let you go to Trandosha. He has no authority over the Antarian police. And… you know what? If he doesn't provide you passage to Trandosha I will buy you and your family tickets myself once we get back to Coruscant. I have a lot saved up."

"Really?" Hrelduussk hissed in a sarcastic voice.

"Yes. Really. Hrelduussk, I literally… UGH. You don't trust me after all I did for you?!" Sey'les snarled.

"Okay okay," Hrelduussk sighed. "I suppose the Wookiee blockade over Trandosha might not like the… _stuff_ , I have in the back of our ship anyways."

Sey'les turned around and could see Shosseth glaring angrily at Hrelduussk.

Sey'les sighed "that's another thing. I think we could turn the ship back over to the Captain, and he could turn it back over to the Antarians…" She turned on the subspace radio and dialled the bridge of the _Judicator_. "This is Muun Leader. We have rescued Hrelduussk's family."

"Very good! We never doubted you for a second Agent! You are cleared to land in Hangar 7."

Sey'les rolled her eyes. Hrelduussk gave a hiss.

* * *

The Hangar was nearly empty. On the right side of the Hangar, the shape of two Z-95s could be made out from under tarps that covered them. Several figures stood near where Hrelduussk's ship was landing.

Captain Ozzel looked weary and relieved as he stood in the hangar with Savit, several _Judicator_ crew Sey'les did not know, a blue hologram of a human Sey'les had never met, and… Clahra _. Clahra? Why is she everywhere?!_

Sey'les stared out the window at Clahra as if she were pure magic. _Is that HoloPhotography equipment?_

"What is she doing here?" Hrelduussk asked Sey'les.

"I have no idea," Sey'les admitted.

As the police cruiser's door opened, Sey'les could hear the middle of an argument. Rather than greeting Hrelduussk's family, Captain Ozzel and Clahra were arguing.

"Captain, Director, I am not a photographer in the least."

"Well Clahra, you do have HoloVideo experience and I know you are currently making a documentary—" the blue hologram said.

"—that's different. My narration makes up for any shortcomings I have shooting footage, I also have help editing the footage, and—"

"—you're all we have Miss Fair," Captain Ozzel said sternly.

"Welcome Aboard," Savit said awkwardly as Sey'les and the Trandoshans clambered down from doors to the cockpit.

"What is going on Captain?!" Sey'les asked in alarm.

"Greetings. I am Byno Doubton, Director of the newly-formed Strategic Advisory Cell or SAC," the hologram said while nodding curtly in Sey'les's direction.

_Director? He's important._ "Sir, I am so sorry. We saved Hrelduussk's family. I should have told the Captain—" Sey'les said in her most apologetic voice.

"—nonsense Agent! You will get a medal for this! Now? I did not catch your names?"

"I am Hrelduussk and I just resigned from the Antarian police—"

"—I am dreadfully sorry for the chaos that is—" the hologram stammered.

"—this is my wife Shosseth, and my hatchlings Krisss, Drenk, and Yasska," Hrelduussk interrupted gesturing to his family, then hissed "What is thisss about?"

"Is there anything you or your family want or need?" the hologram asked.

"Passage to Trandosha and clearance to get through the Wookiee blockade."

"You would rather be on Trandosha despite all that's happening there than on Coruscant? We can set you up with an apartment and anything you need."

"Ressspecfully, Mr Doubton, we want to go back to Trandosha," Shosseth said.

"Very well Hrelduussk, Shosseth, for now you are welcome to stay on the _Judicator_ and Captain Ozzel has allowed one of the guest suites for your use. We will get you home within a week, the _Judicator_ just has to finish some work here first." The hologram paused with a sigh and looked down and back up. "There is something I wish to ask of you. It is a bit awkward, but would you and your family, and you Agent Sey'les, would you be willing to pose for a photo?"

"A photo?!" Sey'les asked in shock.

"I am not doing some media ssstunt that will put my family in danger," Hrelduussk hissed sternly.

"Well, Hrelduussk, if I may say your photo is splashed all over Gotal Assembly wanted posters and—"

"—and will eventually be forgotten. Old news." Hrelduussk hissed. "I don't want to get more attention on—"

"—Mr Hrelduussk, very well, we can change your colour patterns to anything you want."

"Really?!" Yasska yelled with joy so loudly it made Sey'les give a startled jump. "Can I be pink in the photo daddy?"

"Whoa! Dad can I be blue?!" Drenk yelled.

"No I want to be—" Krisss started.

"—enough!" Hrelduussk hissed. "Very well, we will do it but only if you manipulate the photo to make us unrecognisable."

"Excellent!" the hologram yelled in excitement. "Now, are you okay with this Agent Sey'les?"

"I… um."She wanted to yell: _what!_ "Sir, I have no idea what SAC is. I don't understand what is going on," she admitted.

"Haven't you—" the hologram asked.

"—Agent Sey'les has been fairly out of the loop," Captain Ozzel interjected. "Sey'les, the Supreme Chancellor created a new cabinet of information personnel. A new project they have begun is putting a positive light on all of the good work we do, and don't worry, the briefing has been postponed for two more hours."

"Positive light? So, like… the opposite of Defamat?" Sey'les asked. "Hmm… Profamat," Sey'les growled. She was now deep in thought, looking up towards the roof of the hangar. "Profamat…"

Hrelduussk's hatchlings were getting rowdy in the background and hissing.

"Defamat? Profamat?" Captain Ozzel asked.

"Defamation Material. Sorry sir, it's a Bothan phrase," Sey'les said quickly.

"Okay, Sey'les, are you in?" the hologram asked again.

"Yes," she said with a grin. "Yes Captain, yes Director, I'm in."

Savit and one of the crewmen moved a giant green wall behind them while Captain Ozzel stepped out of the way.

The hologram pondered Sey'les and the Trandoshans for a moment, pausing with his thumb on his chin. "Alright Agent, you stand in the front. Trandoshan children, hug her, and Hrelduussk and Shosseth, how about you stand on the left and right and put your arms around the kids—yes! That's it! Everyone smile! Face the camera. Agent Sey'les?"

"Yes sir?"

"Smile but look to the left—no! no! Your other left! Perfect!"

Sey'les heard Clahra take the photo. All of the Trandoshan hatchlings immediately ran forth, competing for a view of the photo on Clahra's datapad.

"Wait a second!" Clahra yelled. "I need to digitally retouch this. Mhhmmm… Hmmm… Hrelduussk what do you think?"

"Acceptable," he hissed. "What will you use for the background?"

"Whatever we need to use as the background," the hologram said. "Clahra when you finish, show them an example."

"All right…. Okay, here."

Sey'les approached curiously and popped her face between Krisss and Drenk, at the level of their shoulders.

The picture showed her and the Trandoshan family standing before a pile of rubble with Skyhook 1 floating in the background. All of their scale colours had been changed completely. Sey'les saw how chaotic her shaggy head hair and fur was after the hatchlings had run their claws through it—it was a mess, but that only made the photo look more authentic. Her Judicial uniform was a bit dirty, but that also only added to the effect. She looked positively heroic like she had just pulled these Trandoshans out of a pile of rubble all by herself.

"Well, Sey'les what do you think?" Clahra asked.

Sey'les growled just one word in a completely awed voice: " _Rogue_."


	18. Zuro Pax

Alpheridies

As Pax entered the New Coronet Cantina he smirked. _Yep, definitely run by a being with eyes_ —the bartender was a dark brown Wookiee wearing a grey vest that was almost a Xesh shape. Next to the Wookiee was a protocol droid.

From the entryway, the cantina looked like it had dry ice-induced clouds of Coronet pollution floating in the air, with the thickest clouds situated on the right side of the bar. The interior was painted a drab Corellian grey and the furniture was wood with bright red-cushioned chairs.

In the entrance sat a terminal. Pax dug through his bag until he found his credit chip. After inserting typing in his debit code, Pax pressed 'active balance.' A balance of 52,273 Republic credits displayed, to Pax's pleasant surprise. He had accumulated over 6,000 credits in the last month without taking a single bribe. _Well, it is hard to spend money on anything but rent when deployed on a ship_. Various 'withdrawal' options were displayed. Pax hit the 500 one.

**"ɱ500 selected. The exchange rate today is 9.0127 Republic Credits to 1 Miralukan Credit. Do you accept the Bank of Miraluka's Exchange Rate? Yes/No/Select Another Transaction."**

Pax selected another transaction. _Geez, 4,500 credits! The Republic Credit isn't worth anything._ Pax hit ɱ150 and then the terminal said **"ɱ150selected. The exchange rate today is 9.0127 Republic Credits to 1 Miralukan Credit. Do you accept the Bank of Miraluka's Exchange Rate? Yes/No/Select Another Transaction."**

Pax accepted the exchange rate. To his complete astonishment, a loud banging noise of clanging metal echoed from the cubby below the terminal.

Reaching inside, Pax could feel three huge coins, each the size of his hand. They were so heavy. _Blast. There is no way these can fit in my coin-purse._ Pax pulled out his spare dirty laundry bag from his backpack and started stuffing the three inconvenient coins inside. Each one had a ɱ50 printed on it in a very textured font a blind being could feel. _Wow. I am not on Coruscant anymore._ Never before had Pax ever felt this far from home. Even the asteroid city Pax grew up in was closer to Coruscant than this.

As Pax entered, he yelled " _Wyaaaaaa,_ " [hello] with a tip of his hat approaching the counter.

The Wookiee asked, in Shyriiwook, [Do you speak Shyriiwook?]

[Yep, studied it for three years on Coruscant,] Pax answered as he walked by the table Averross and Carver were seated at. Pax ignored them and sat down at the bar counter. " _Ma nama ga Pax, oshra oh hua shyrii 'Maksh' ghug oh waa._ " [My name is Pax, but you can say "Maksh" if you need,] Pax explained.

Struggling to say "Pax," the Wookiee gargled frustratedly. " _Hmaks._ "

"That works too. _Hmaks_ I suppose sounds closer, you understand Basic?"

" _Uma"_. [Yes.]

"Good," Pax sighed. "I can speak Shyriiwook but it is tiring on my tongue."

[My name is Ghalabow,] the Wookiee said.

Pax realised this Wookiee was female at her name. _Hard to tell when they actually wear clothes_ he thought. [Nice to meet you Ghalabow.]

As Pax set his bag next to his stool and began getting comfortable, Carver muttered from behind him.

"Pax?"

"Yeah," Pax answered spinning around.

"I can't find my credit chip anywhere and I forgot my debit code. Could you spot me?"

"You owe me. Here is ɱ50. That's 450 credits give or take. Should cover at least a few days here," Pax said handing one of his huge coins to Carver.

"Thanks Pax," Carver said returning to the table, which now had Fojo, a female Rodian Pax had never seen, and a green Twi'lek female Pax had never seen. She was hissing with very sharp teeth at Averross. Averross was saying something with animated gestures and Fojo was laughing at it all, looking very much like he was struggling to fit in.

In the few minutes since Pax arrived at the counter, Averross had downed four shot glasses of who knows what, already appeared drunk, and attracted two beings to his table.

The Wookiee laughed tapping Pax's hat and chuckled, asking in Shyriiwook, [Are you a cop or a bounty hunter?]

"Eh, something like that," Pax replied, taking his hat off.

[I guess that he is your boss,] she proclaimed in Shyriiwook while pointing at Averross.

"Uh yeah, I'd like a… I guess I'll try a Miraluka Beer," Pax replied in Basic.

" _Uma_ ," she replied as she put a glass under a tap. An unsavoury-looking black liquid came out with bubbles like beer but much too dark. " _Ghalashi ga-ga yako nyuyag_." [The Galaxy is like that],she added in a sage Wookiee voice.

Pax handed Ghalabow a giant ɱ50 coin and asked, "the Galaxy is like what?"

She returned two ɱ20 coins about half the size of the 50 coin, a five coin about the size of a 1 Pegat coin, and four tiny one Miraluka Credit started growling a Shyriiwook rant, one which she had probably given before.[Humans. Humans always are everywhere and always trust their own kind. I think you are more intelligent than that fool, but the humans do not trust you.]

"Honestly, Ghalabow you're right, but that's not what's going on here," Pax muttered. "You would be right 99% of the time, but this particular fool—well, I can't say more."

Pax took a sip of the Miraluka Beer. Surprisingly, it was extremely weak, almost like fizzy water with a beer aftertaste. "Is this stuff almost all water?" Pax asked with a laugh.

Ghalabow laughed back. [Miralukas don't ever make strong beer. It is possible.]

Pax looked around the room. There were a few younger Miraluka here who looked like they would not be of drinking-age on Coruscant. They sat near the door.

Looking around curiously, Pax finally found what he was looking for. A sign explaining the rules. Next to his stool, fixed to the counter, was an engraved sign spelled out in Basic, but which a Miraluka could touch and feel the words on, **"Under 16? No service. No shirt? No pants? No service."**

_Sixteen is a bit young_ , Pax thought to himself. _The local alcohol though is pretty weak._ He wanted to ask if there were laws restricting what type of beer the teens could drink, but stopped himself, realising it would probably give Ghalabow too many clues to his own identity.

[You could start your own business rather than work for the humans,] Ghalabow suddenly suggested in Shyriiwook.

"I could, but…" Pax gulped down the rest of the black coloured beer-water, _surprisingly refreshing, not like beer at all_ "but I am not exactly working for the 'humans' and most of the time, I don't have a boss who is a fool."

The Wookiee looked curiously at him. Pax could tell she wanted to ask a lot more questions but wasn't going to. Pax decided to ask one of his own.

"What do you think of the ramshackle Wookiee blockade over Trandosha?" Pax asked, strategically dropping a bombshell question to completely change the topic of conversation.

Ghalabow laughed a deep Wookiee laugh. " _Ishh korrrrll Hmaks!_ " [Dangerous question Pax.]

"Well, seriously, what do you think? Personally, I think the fact you guys 'voted,' really appointed Yarua to represent the Trandoshans in the Senate is a symptom of a greater problem in the Republic. I like Yarua as much as the next guy. He's all right, but that Wookiee Senator doesn't usually wear clothes, cannot speak a word of T'doshok, and not a single Trandoshan was allowed to vote."

[You aren't a bounty hunter Pax. You are a cop,] Ghalabow said slyly.

"Fine, you're right, I am something more of a cop," Pax muttered.

[Well, that's one reason I left Kashyyyk,] Ghalabow said wearily in Shyriiwook. [Arrogant strong Wookiees always making blunders. Never accepting new ideas. We live like critters in the forest—]

"—Ahhhh!" Averross yelled so loudly that it made Ghalabow stop talking. His face bore that wet sweaty look humans got when they were extremely drunk. "You wanna see my saber ladies?!"

To Pax's horror, Averross ignited his blue lightsaber. All of the Miraluka teens approached his table in fascination.

_"Oh masha ga yedai!"_ [Your boss is a Jedi!] Ghalabow yelled in a laugh.

"Yep. Seeing as we are now no longer under cover, I am an Agent in the Republic Judicial Corps. That there," Pax said pointing angrily in Averross's direction "that there is the most kriffing stupid Jedi I have ever been assigned to. This though, this is a new level of stupid. This—BLAST!"

One of the Miraluka teenagers donated her eye-mask to Averross. Averross put it on and was now swinging at items that the bar patrons were throwing at him.

"See, it's the Force you see? I can swing at anythin' you kriff-heads throw my way!" Averross explained excitedly to the force-sensitive Miralukas.

A Miraluka teenager extended his hands as if casting a spell, lifted a chair using the force, and hurled it at Averross. Averross sliced it in half. The crowd was roaring with laughter.

Ghalabow gave an angry roar so loud that it shook all of the plates and glasses.

"Averross! Master, stand down!" Pax yelled in a panic.

"You don't get to order me around Pax," Averross stammered, nearly tripping on a chair as he approached the counter, saber still ignited.

"Respectfully, sir," Pax pleaded, "you've had far too much to drink. Turn your lightsaber off before you hurt someone!"

Averross turned off his saber and looked the snarling Wookiee in the eye. "Sorry 'bout that chair. I can pay for it," and threw her his Republic credit chip. She handed it back to Pax slyly.

"I'll try to um... help him out, it was nice talking with you Ghalabow," Pax said with a tip of his hat as he got up.

"Egh inyorgh oo sheyachu rin, oshra oh rrashrakrrykap nyrr." [I enjoy your companionship too but remove him please.]

_Sheyachu_ Pax thought to himself. _Isn't that a bit romantic? Eh, forget about it. Besides, Jazal and my sister may have a thing for scary fur-covered predators with sharp teeth, I don't. Gotta take care of a Jedi…_ Pax gripped Averross's elbow and started leading him through the mock-pollution mist towards the door.

Averross groaned a little bit as if he felt sick.

"Carver, Fojo, could you help me?"

"Yeah Pax we're on it," Carver said and hopped up from the table in a snap.

Pax could not believe he had to ask for help. _Useless Judicials._

Fojo went over to the door.

The Miraluka teens began parting allowing a clear path to the door. The Rodian and Twi'lek who had previously been at Averross's table were laughing hard, nearly falling out of their chairs.

Awerl suddenly appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but his belt and peacekeeping badge. _"Wuaah magha magha?_ " [What is happening?]He asked in a concerned tone.

Ghalabow roared at Awerl. Pax turned around to see what the commotion was. Ghalabow was pointing angrily at the sign saying, " _No shirt, no pants, no service_."

_Blast._

Awerl started angrily walking to the counter bumping Carver's shoulder.

"Ouch!" Carver yelled and dropped Averross.

Pax groaned under the weight of Averross's entire body, struggling to pull the Jedi to standing position without Carver's help.

"Awerl! Stand down! Go to the temple, put some clothes on, and come back if you want to hang out in this Cantina!" Pax yelled.

Ghalabow and Awerl started roaring at each other. They spoke far too fast for Pax to understand any of it.

_This is not good. This is not good. This is not good. Blast this is not good._

After 20 seconds of yowling at each other, Ghalabow splashed some Miraluka Beer onto Awerl's face. The next second, Awerl roared and grabbed Ghalabow's shoulder fur, pulling her hard into the counter as if he was trying to yank her out from behind the bar counter.

"AWERL! STOP! STOP IT YOU KRIFFING GOON! STOP!" Pax yelled.

Ghalabow reached up and grabbed Awerl's hands, pressing hard between Awerl's thumb and pointer finger, pressing ruthlessly into his pressure points. Awerl screamed in pain, his claws extending involuntarily then retracting. Ghalabow leapt over the counter, smacking Awerl's face with a steel tray. She then began wailing on him in earnest.

Onlookers started watching curiously, a few of the Miralukan teens cheered.

_THIS IS SO BAD!_

Pax felt Averross weight suddenly go away. Averross stood straight on his own volition and turned around.

"Averross! Don't interfere with a Wookiee fight! We should wait until Ghalabow is satisfied. Awerl needs a lesson anyways." Pax added "GHALABOW! I think that goon has had enough!"

"Pax, don't worry, a Jedi's got this… a Jedi's got this…" Averross slurred in a drunken tone. He chanted "Passion, yet Serenity. Chaos, yet Harmony." He began approaching the fighting Wookiees.

It did not take two semesters of Wookiee culture at the Judicial Academy for Pax to know Averross's drunken idea, whatever it was, was a bad idea.

Averross force lifted tables and chairs at random, then chucked them at Ghalabow.

Ghalabow snarled, retreated behind her counter, and began throwing things back at Averross.

Awerl got up and began slinking back towards Pax on the floor.

"Averross, we gotta go! Master! Grab Awerl!"

Fojo ran to Pax and Carver in a panic "what should we do?!"

"I can save us Fojo don't you worry your little yokel brain," Averross said in an almost sober tone and began slicing through all of the furnishings Ghalabow threw.

As Averross cut a table in half mid-air, flaming wood shavings flew into Pax's eyes. The Duros closed closed his eyes, tears welling up. He whipped out his comm "Jazal! I need help! Averross and Awerl are drunk! They got into a fight. This is getting really—"

Pax paused. Through his teary eyes, he saw a meter-tall black safe flying at Averross. _Blast…_

In a moment where time seemed to go in slow motion, Averross cut through the safe with his lightsaber. The teenagers and Fojo were screaming in terror, being burned by flying metal shrapnel. Molten chunks of metal flew in every direction along with Miralukan Credits spilling out, some of them molten too. Pax turned away from a huge chunk falling straight towards his face.

_Too late._ Pax felt burning and a heavy impact on the back of his head. Then, nothing.


	19. Chapter 19

Aboard the _Judicator_

Shaking some of the water out of her fur after turning off the shower, Sey'les stepped out and grabbed a towel. _Damn that was a crazy morning_ , she thought as she squeezed her shaggy head hair into the towel. She sat around in bed for ten more minutes, waiting for her fur to get dry enough to the point where she could put on a clean uniform without it soaking.

Sey'les still had an hour before the briefing. _I think I am going to drink a caf,_ she decided as she walked to her door. Suddenly, another _knock knock knock_.

"You know, these ships are equipped with a chime you can press. They are much less grating on my ears than your banging. And I smell you human!"

"Sorry Sey'les," Clahra said as Sey'les opened the door. "I smell you in the hallway too wet Bothan, and human? Is that how you answer your door Sey'les? What if I were an important person knocking on your door?"

"You are important Clahra," Sey'les said in a gruff matter of fact tone. _It is just a fact like… shoes go on my feet rather than my hands. Water is wet. Clahra is important. She has totally compromised Jedi security. And you know what? I don't even care._ "How's Master Suldor?!" Sey'les exclaimed realising she had no idea how the old Mon Calamari was doing.

"He is currently in sickbay. They got him out of cardiac arrest, thankfully. His heart is now stable, but Suldor is only coherent so far after being given 400 mg of some sort of antipsychotics; coherent but extremely sleepy. I think he slept 13 hours. The doc says they can't keep him at that dosage. Hopefully the Jedi will be able to help him when we get back to Coruscant. Thanks for asking, Sey'les."

"No problem," Sey'les replied. "I really am worried about him."

"That's nice to hear," Clahra said looking a bit more downcast, "but that was not why I came to your quarters."

"Clahra I—oh," Sey'les said.

"Here Sey'les," Clahra said handing her this mysterious long metal cylinder.

Opening the top, Sey'les pulled out a plastic laminated flimiplast thing. She unrolled it, and it was a poster of her saving the Trandoshans. _Rogue!_

"Ooooofff!" Clahra groaned as Sey'les squeezed her in a tight muscly hug.

"Thanks, Clahra!" Sey'les squealed with delight.

"That's all right Sey'les. You seemed to think it was really nice earlier," Clahra noted.

Sey'les retreated into her quarters and stuck it up on the wall with four magnets. _I can take it with me once the Judicator gets back to Coruscant_.

Clahra looked weirded out for some reason but Sey'les was too grateful to ask why.

"I am going to get a caf. I feel a bit more awake than I did a second ago, but I feel like I am going to get tired again in 20 minutes if I don't have some caffeine," Sey'les said then gave an open-snout yawn. "I can chat with you for a bit, but I have the briefing—do _we_ have the briefing?!" she blurted out interrogatively.

"Oh no," Clahra laughed. "I wasn't invited to this briefing Sey'les," she said with a slight blush.

_Suldor was the only one getting you access then,_ Sey'les thought _._ "All right, well, it's classified for you then, but do you want to get a caf?"

"Sure!" Clahra replied.

* * *

Sey'les led Clahra to the officer's mess. It was normal for the mess to be fairly crowded in the morning before the first day shift of the _Judicator_ began their duty.

This morning was no exception.

Before Hrelduussk had caused a delay to the whole briefing, it was scheduled early enough so that the only Judicials who would be awake probably would have been the team leaders. Now however, all of Sey'les's team was awake except for Wulf and F'laro. _That lazy Ardennian_ , Sey'les thought. All of Savit's team was also awake and sitting at their own table.

Sey'les gave a wave to her team and Savit's team to let them know she saw them, then found a small unoccupied table with two chairs. She pulled her blue Judicial patrol cap out of her cargo pocket and dropped it on the table to show anyone that it was now occupied, then walked towards the breakfast buffet with Clahra.

Already smelling many familiar food items, Sey'les knew what she was getting before she could see it. She smelled Nuna bacon, Anoat oats, scrambled Gartro eggs, these toast pieces with cheese and some bitter umami-smelling salty sauce, a plain toast, a tub of fermented congealed cheese, a tub of congealed liquid Ghoba rice, and several types of fruit.

She approached the buffet picked up two pieces of Nuna bacon with tongs, grabbed three pieces of the toast with mysterious cheese that smelled so irresistibly umami, and a blob of watery Ghoba rice. _I am going to need some sort of liquid… ah,_ she closed her eyes and sniffed the air twice smelling Bith bean milk, _I'll get that later._

Sey'les realised Clahra was staring at her curiously with a grin and wide eyes.

"What's so funny?" Sey'les asked in a cautious tone, her fur on her neck standing up straight, the spiking back as her mood became defensive. Her posture became tense. Whenever a large being like a human stared at a Bothan while picking out food, a primal illogical instinct would start firing in the shallow recesses of the Bothan brain— _that big scavenger wants to hurt me and scavenge my food or arrive first at the food source!_ Even if it intellectually made no sense, given that there was plenty of food to go around the feeling would still occur.

"Watching you pick out food is… interesting," Clahra replied simply.

"Oh," Sey'les sighed in relief. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?!" Clahra asked.

"Stare at me while I find food," Sey'les said.

Clahra giggled. "Find food!? Find food! We are at a buffet! Did I _scare_ you!?" Clahra asked, clearly amused that she could frighten Sey'les, even on a subconscious level.

"No, you did not scare me," Sey'les growled sternly as if that settled the matter. She approached the spot where she smelled the Bith bean milk, grabbed out the metal bottle she knew contained the it, and poured it on her rice. Afterwards, she added a dash of it to the bottom of an empty mug. She walked away from Clahra to the caf stand and added caf to her dash of Bith bean milk, rather than the other way around. She put her snout near the surface of the caf and felt the heat on her whiskers— _far too hot!_ Sey'les searched the buffet until she found a tub of ice with random fruits on it, as well as a type of chilled fish. After plunking several ice cubes into her caf, she felt safer with the temperature.

Clahra was staring at her again.

_I suppose it's weird that I am putting fish ice in my caf_ , Sey'les reasoned, and ignored it this time, feeling a bit embarrassed by her own impulsive eccentricities. As she sat in the seat nearest to where she had thrown her patrol cap, she thought with regret: _I could have tried to find the ice dispenser… Damn. My caf is going to taste like fish! It already smells a bit like fish!_ She took a cautious sip. It did not taste like fish. _Good._

"Is everything okay Sey'les?" Clahra asked as she sat down.

"Well, my caf does not like taste fish. I am happy about that," Sey'les admitted with a sigh of relief, and started chewing a tough piece of Nuna bacon.

Clahra gave a chuckle and started sipping her own mug of caf. "What do you think the briefing is going to be about?"

"I think you probably deduced that already," Sey'les said with certainty. "I didn't invite you here to ask me about stuff you shouldn't know about, Clahra."

"All right," Clahra said, staring down at her Gartro eggs looking a bit disappointed.

"Besides, someone'll tell you about it in the press briefing afterwards, I am sure," Sey'les added.

Clahra did not look any less disappointed.

"Is it Master Suldor?" Sey'les asked.

"Well, sort of. I am sad about him," Clahra said.

"Me too."

"I think though," Clahra started. "I think that he is going to be retired. They will probably give him all of the help he needs. Hopefully, the Jedi will be able to help him in ways the doctor cannot."

Sey'les squinted as she thought of how to best eat the second piece of Nuna bacon. Before putting it in her mouth she asked, "Be retired? Not retire? What does Jedi retirement look like?"

"Well… It depends on the Jedi," Clahra said, no longer surprising Sey'les with her knowledge. "Many older Jedi go back to their home worlds and reconnect with their long-lost family members. Some become librarians or record keepers. Some continue being semi-active with desk jobs on some backwater temples like the one at Jeddha. The lost cases either leave the order or end up in some sort of rehabilitation permanently."

Sey'les looked up thoughtfully, chewing her Nuna bacon, imagining a bigoted blue old Mon Calamari floating around on Dac or picking up datapads on some backwater desert temple with his dry fins. _Hmmm I can see Suldor doing that._ Then she began imagining Suldor becoming a politician like Count Dooku, popping up on HoloFeeds whining about 'predators' and getting elected to the Senate, or perhaps a radical organisation like the Separatists. Her fur swirled nervously at the thought.

"What is it Sey'les?" Clahra asked in a slightly concerned voice.

_Clahra has gotten a lot better at reading me,_ Sey'les thought with slight worry, _maybe Suldor really did have Bothans all figured out and wasn't using the force to read me._

"I hope Suldor doesn't go into politics," Sey'les said simply.

"What?" Clahra asked with surprise.

"Politics. Like that Dooku. We have enough senile Jedi retirees running around mucking up the Galaxy as politicians," Sey'les said gesturing around the room with her spoon as if the room were the Galaxy.

"What? Dooku didn't retire Sey'les. He went back to Sorenno, overthrew his brother Ramil, and then left the order in protest to the Republic exploiting his world.

"Wait! Quit?! Overthrew his brother!" Sey'les exclaimed, her snout hung open in shock. "The Jedi can quit too? They can launch coups on planets then just quit after taking over?"

"A few of them have quit," Clahra said matter of factly. "The Jedi aren't slaves. They are allowed to quit. Dooku wasn't always this old. He quit the Jedi Order almost sixteen years ago. I very much doubt that Count Dooku is _senile_ Sey'les," she huffed.

Sey'les looked around the mess and realised everyone was staring at her and Clahra. She sighed and took a bite of her lukewarm Ghoba rice in Bith bean milk. Gulping it down she added, more quietly, "I just don't get how the Republic could let a Jedi take over a whole planet, and then quit to be that planet's dictator. It doesn't make any sense."

"As a Gotal politician told me a few days ago, Sey'les, there is always room for the Republic to improve," Clahra said slyly, then added in a whisper, "especially, when it comes to the Jedi."

Sey'les gulped nervously. She did not quite understand why that statement made her so nervous, but it did.

Clahra gave Sey'les that grin with her tiny human mouth again. The annoying, bold, proud _I just scared a Bothan_ grin.

"Clahra…" Sey'les started, "if you understand the system so well, why don't you go into politics? You could probably do some good."

Laughing so hard she almost choked on her caf, Clahra pounded the table with a closed fist startling Sey'les. "Bothan, you may live amongst us in the Core, but you really don't get it. I am a part of the Fourth Pinnacle."

"The what?!" Sey'les asked.

"It's a human thing," Clahra sighed. "Bothan, in a traditional human political model, there are the Three Pinnacles of Power. A Legislature making laws, a Judiciary interpreting those laws, keeping the peace, and enforcing those laws," she pointed at Sey'les's Judicial uniform, "and Nobility that calls forth the legislature and acts as a Constitutional fallback."

"That's three," Sey'les said counting with her fingers.

"Yep Bothan. That's three. I am a part of the fourth—a free press who gets to expose those three branches and keep them honest. We are a power in our own right, and I am content with that power."

"But… your branch has no ability to protect itself," Sey'les noted.

"Yeah, that's the job of the judiciary," Clahra said.

_Hmmm… there's a lot of room for abuse in this human model,_ Sey'les thought. _What if two pinnacles conspire against another? Ugh it is way too early for this much thinking._ She took another swig of caf. She looked at the chronometer. "All right Clahra, I have to get going. I will see you later."

"See you, Sey'les. I hope the briefing and mission go well. Don't be too wild in there."

Sey'les rolled her eyes at that, a human gesture she had picked up, and then put her trey on the dirty dish rack. She walked out of the room, down the hall, towards the turbolift.

Suddenly, it dawned on Sey'les while she was walking. _She may look pretty, but Clahra is also smart. She's not just connected. She also does not even need to use the Force to figure out how I am feeling—kriffing great. Or does she use the force?_

* * *

At the briefing, Captain Ozzel cut through the chatter with a phlegmy _ahem_. "Agents, pilots, let us begin the briefing for Operation Fleeting Eclipse."

The chatter in the Battle Operations Room died down. Sey'les focused on Captain Ozzel.

"This information is need to know. After this briefing Sey'les, Savit, you will brief your teams with the information they need to know, no more, no less. We believe there is a traitor in the Antarian police. It is possible that the traitor is a member of one of our Judicial teams, but that seems rather implausible."

Sey'les and Savit both exchanged uneasy looks.

Captain Ozzel continued, "Either Master Tursk being shot down was the biggest coincidence in the universe, or someone on our side with access to her flight path was involved. Personally, I don't trust coincidences. More troublingly, the Antarian police had far too much access to our ship. Last night, a former police Lieutenant was able to breach our security and coerce one of our Agents into helping him rescue his family."

_Coerce. Kriff! I wouldn't put it that way!_ Sey'les thought… _Well, maybe I would. Damn,_ Sey'les realised half the room was staring at her. Normally, the Bothan would shamelessly revel in the attention but this time, she tried to sink into her seat and disappear.

"We have no reason, at this time, to believe that particular Antarian police Lieutenant had anything to do with Master Tursk's disappearance and murder. He was also victimised around the same time she was, and it was only through his actions and the actions of one of our Agents that his family survived the ordeal. However, the fact he had our security codes means other Antarian police probably did." Captain Ozzel slowly began sounding more like he was rambling, "we currently have both he and his family aboard this ship. Should the need for further questioning arise, he would be obviously available…"

_Why are you telling everyone that?!_ Sey'les thought. _Are you using him as bait?_

"In any case," Captain Ozzel said in a louder more confident voice, "we have a target. We traced the likely location of the video to a lone house in a forested area about 30 clicks from Temba Port. It is on the other side of the bay, in a relatively isolated area." Captain Ozzel pressed a button on his wrist and a diagram of the structure appeared on the Holoprojector in front of him.

The structure rotated on the Holopad. It was three-storeys with some scaffolding around it. On the roof was a makeshift metal tower.

"We believe that metal tower is a makeshift hyper-transceiver of some sort. I want you to capture that building intact Agents. Pilots, you will need to get both teams in and provide them with intelligence. Sey'les?"

"Yes Captain?" Sey'les asked.

"Your team will be dropped off a click from the structure and enter the perimeter with stealth. You will clear the bottom level with a loud breach as Savit's team enters through the roof."

"Understood sir, do we clear the middle floor too?"

"No Sey'les, that will be Team Aurek's job. Savit?"

"Yes sir?" Savit asked.

"Your team will hit the building loud too. You will be deployed directly on the roof after Sey'les's team enters the ground floor."

"Do we know that building can support the weight of a transport sir?" Savit asked in a worried voice.

"The transport won't be landing on the roof. It will be hovering over it. Your team will join Team Muun on the ground outside of the building for pickup, then we will deploy our analysts to the scene."

"Very well sir," Savit said.

"If possible, Sey'les, Savit, needless to say—try to stop the Gotal Assembly from clearing any data on their computers. Take the building as intact as possible."

"Yes sir," Sey'les and Savit both said at the same time.

"I will control the mission from orbit," Captian Ozzel said.

"All right Captain, but, with all due respect, I think it would be less confusing if either Agent Savit or I were given command on the ground," Sey'les growled nervously.

"I won't micromanage you if that's what you are concerned with Agent," Captain Ozzel said. "You still have my standing authorisation to use lethal force. I just do not want any sudden unauthorised… changes in the mission parameters Sey'les."

Sey'les gulped nervously, "sorry about that sir."

"It is all right Agent. I have explained this already. You are not in trouble. I don't want you to push your luck though Agent and you will be kept on a tight leash from now on, as long as you are under my command. For any changes in this mission, from either of you, you will need to ask me explicitly," Captain Ozzel said sternly.

* * *

As usual, when Sey'les was forced to hide information from her team, there were questions; even more questions than she usually got about the information she was supposed to tell them. They were all seated in a tiny conference room with one Holoprojector showing a diagram of the building.

"So, let me get this straight," Wulf said in an annoyed tone. "Captain Ozzel, the ship captain who has never been in ground combat in his life, is controlling this mission directly. Why?"

"Because of what I did last night Wulf," Sey'les said in a tired groan.

_"Ewhy wox pozoolin butlayss?"_ [Why do you always do that?] F'laro asked.

"I don't always do that!" Sey'les snarled indignantly.

Hashtivar and the Ugnaughts laughed.

"It's simple," Sey'les said in a light cautious growl, looking around, locking eyes with each member of her team. "We just need to walk a click up to the building, carefully and quickly, as I said before. If we take too long, Antar 4 will move out of the shadow of Antar and it will be bright again for a couple of hours before sunset."

"Could you explain that part?" Wulf asked closing his eyes frustratedly, rubbing his face with two of his four arms as if the very concept of Antarian days gave him a headache. "I get the eclipse, but I don't understand why the day is going to be less than three hours long."

Fortunately, the moon Bothans evolved on, was on such an inclined plane that it only experienced a lunar eclipse twice a Bothan year. Antar 4 however, experienced one every week.

Sey'les sighed. "So, right now we are in the shadow of Antar," she said, holding up her furry fist pointing to the side facing away from the ceiling light. "The planet itself is still spinning even though it has been dark for the last two days on all of Antar," Sey'les explained, suddenly realising she would need a lot more than one fist to depict this complex system.

Wulf blinked in confusion as Sey'les searched for props.

Sey'les continued, "We will be emerging from the shadow in three hours but the part of Antar 4 that Temba Port is on will be spinning away from the sunlight," she pointed to the shadowed side of it her fist, but twirled it a bit back into the ceiling light. "The day will only last two hours before the sun sets. Then, tomorrow, Temba Port will have a full ten hours of sunlight after the sun rises and this will continue until Antar 4 slides behind the great shadow of Antar again… the other side of the planet will get a day longer than three hours. Got it?"

"Not really," Wulf admitted, "but I don't need to understand how moons work ma'am," he yawned, patting his belly with his bottom two arms and stretching with his top two arms. "We just gotta walk a click to the house, shoot some Jedi-killing scum, and then wait around for the humans to finish their mission dicking around on the roof and top two floors."

"Pretty much," Sey'les said. _I could not have put it better myself_ , she thought proudly. "We just have to do this right, and then Captain Ozzel will know we aren't… well totally wild and can follow orders."

"You mean Captain Ozzel will know _you_ aren't totally wild and can follow orders Sey'les," Weequi said with a laugh.

Sey'les groaned. "Fine. You're right. He'll learn I am not totally wild."  
"You mean _feral,_ " Hashtivar corrected.

"Arrgghh!" Sey'les snarled. "Hashtivar, Weequi, I am the team leader will not be talked to like that. When we get back to Coruscant, we are all going on some nice runs around the Judicial Arcology; in full uniform, with boots."

"But Sey'les! Ma'am! That's three clicks!" Hashtivar said alarmed, his little Chelidae mouth hanging open in dismay.

"We will do a jog every day for the first four days next week," Sey'les insisted. "If I can do it, so can you."

"Well, you don't have a shell Sey'les!" Hashtivar whined.

"We are running down processional way! Hooooaaah!"

Sey'les received a bunch of downcast "Hoo-aahs."

"WE ARE RUNNING DOWN PROCESSIONAL WAY. You are going to be excited! That's an order. HOOOAAAHHHH!"

Her entire team gave a completely coerced but excited "HOOOAAH!"

Sey'les gave a toothy scowl. _Hashtivar needs to get into shape anyways and those little cheeky Ugnaughts do too._


	20. Itoll Oc'nel

Alpheridies

On the one hand, like everything on Alpheridies, the Jedi Temple was painted hideously. On the other, it was still shaped like a Jedi Temple. A chaotic rusty yellow coloured line crossed the temple staircase diagonally, seeming to originate at the base of one of the pillars. It was the brightest colour amidst the dominant shades of red, grey, and brown.

As Oc'nel and Jazal walked up the stairs, a Miraluka wearing brown Jedi Robes and a black eye-mask covering the space where humans would have eyes.

"Greetings Master?"

"Jazal," Jazal said. "This is Agent Oc'nel. I believe master Averross would have contacted you."

"Who?"

"Master Averross. We are in the system getting emergency repairs on a Judicial Mission. We have about thirty crew and Judicial Agents who need accommodation and Averross scheduled a briefing with the Jedi Council tomorrow."

"Briefing?" the male Miraluka asked. "Well, this is the first time we at the Temple are hearing of it Jazal. We are always happy to help the Republic."

"This is just like Master Averross…" Jazal said in exasperation. "Very well, Master Averross is likely busy at the moment—"

"—Busy?" the Miraluka Jedi interrupted. "This sounds very important what could he be busy with?"

"Yeah, he's well… Averross is…" Jazal started but was completely at a loss for words.

"Busy sir," Oc'nel interjected in his smoothest possible voice with a grin. "Our Jedi Master is checking out the local sites and told us to go here," Oc'nel said honestly. _It is_ true, he had to convince himself. _Checking out a local sight._

"I see," the Miraluka Jedi said, unable to hide his concern.

"Would it be possible for me to schedule a conference room with a hologram projector? Is there enough accommodation here for our Agents and crew?"

"Yes, and yes Jazal, I will be happy to help," the Miraluka Jedi said with a smile.

"I didn't get your name… Master?"

"Ah I am Master Ov-Bion."

"How many Jedi are stationed here Master Ov-Bion?" Oc'nel asked curiously.

"Oh, this is mainly a rehabilitation facility and a place for Jedi to improve upon their force sight. There are only seven of us here, but in the winter months the Jedi Temple on Coruscant sends us dozens of Jedi."

"Interesting…" Oc'nel said.

"You seem awfully curious about the Jedi, Agent," Ov-Bion said. "If you wish to learn more, I am sure Master Grier could show you the archives and tapestries."

"That would be nice!"

"Right now, Agent, we have a lot of work to do," Jazal said sternly. "I'll help organise the briefings, Ov-Bion, I'm putting Oc'nel in charge of room assignments."

"Ah, very well Jazal," Ov-Bion said serenely. "In that case, you had still better head to the archives. Master Grier can fabricate some name plates for you. It is down the main entrance hallway on the left."

"Oc'nel, you'll find the crew manifest on your datapad," Jazal said.

"Thank you Master, see you later Masters," Oc'nel said cheerfully as he stepped inside the Temple. _This is so… amazing._

The interior entrance hall was the same multi-coloured mess as the outside. It was dimly lit on the bottom floor by a single row of ceiling lights. The staircases on the left and right leading to the upper floors were more well-lit. Light from the second-floor balcony was emitting from the left and right into the entrance hall. The end of the entrance hall had two Jedi statues, both Miraluka, holding ignited stone sabers.

As Oc'nel walked further down the entrance hall the second-floor balcony began appearing more and more _bookish_. Study desks gave way to bookshelves and shelves of holocrons.

Taking the stair on the left, Oc'nel proceeded up the stairs towards the bookish-looking area. A figure sat at a desk with three terminals surrounding him like a wall. As Oc'nel drew nearer, he realised that the figure was a human who merely looked blue because of the light from all of his terminals. He had wispy white hair and a long beard.

"Master Grier I presume? I am Agent Oc'nel. Master Ov-Bion told me to report here. We need to fabricate some name plates for room assignments."

"Greetings Agent… Agent of what Bothan?" Grier demanded suspiciously. "The Spynet?"

"Oh, I am a Republic Judicial," Oc'nel said awkwardly scratching the swirling fur on the back of his neck. "Master Averross, our taskforce leader, gave us shore leave."

Master Grier gave off a laugh at this. "Master Averross… The High Council still trusts him enough to lead Judicials?!"

"Oh, you know Averross?" Oc'nel asked inquisitively.

"Yes, but that's another story," Grier said wearily as he typed some things onto his terminal. "Very well Agent, hand me the list of names."

Oc'nel handed Grier a datachip and Grier inserted it into one of the terminal ports.

After a few seconds, Oc'nel heard a clinking sound of metal being plates deposited onto a metal surface from somewhere in the distance. His head perked up and he started looking for the source of the noise.

Grier let off a chuckle. "You can hear that? Those plates are being printed on the third floor."

"Yeah well… we have good hearing," Oc'nel stammered, wondering if the Jedi was probing his mind.

Pushing up from his chair with effort, Master Grier stood. "Okay Agent, let's get your plates."

"Lead the way Master," Oc'nel replied with a spacer gesture for _I'll follow you._

Grier chuckled again. "You don't look like an Askar. You must be from Botha'ahir."

_Okay, he is definitely reaching out to my thoughts. GET OUT OF MY HEAD OLD MAN!_

"That gesture," Grier pointed.

"Ohhh," Oc'nel laughed nervously. "Have you been to Bothan space?"

"Yes," the old man replied. "I've even visited your world. I was part of the Jedi mission thirteen years ago that ended the two-century sanctions on your home by Clan Alya and the Neutral Clans."

"OH!" Oc'nel said in shock, sudden respect and gratefulness replaced his previous suspicion. "Hmmmm… well, thank you for that," he tried to say as casually as possible, but his voice shook.

"It was... are you going to cry Agent?" Grier asked sternly.

"Oh no sir!" Oc'nel said with a big sniffle "Let's get those plates."

Oc'nel's comm beeped on his way up the stairs following Master Grier.

"Itoll! Are you alright?" Jazal's concerned voice almost asked in a yell of panic.

_Damn. That overbearing Jedi._

"Yeah Jazal I'm fine, just had an um—"

"—an emotional moment," Grier said directly, bending down intrusively towards the comm Oc'nel was holding.

Oc'nel gulped nervously.

Jazal laughed nervously. "Well I'm glad. I am sorry Master, I just sensed something was off with my Agent."

"That's very well, we should always care for those, those whom the Jedi Order assigns to our leadership," Grier said and Jazal hung up. "Well, she seems to be very close with you," Grier said in a suspicious voice. "Not that it is any of my business I suppose," he added with a _naughty-naughty_ chuckle.

 _Blast he's even nosier than Jazal!_ "Um… yeah," Oc'nel said, nervously scratching his elbow as he continued up the stairs.

"Don't worry," he said in a knowing-voice, "I won't pursue the issue further. I will give you some advice though, Bothan."

"Yes?" Oc'nel asked nervously.

"There are things that foolish young Jedi knight could learn from you too," he said wisely.

 _Okay, yeah, he's in my head,_ Oc'nel thought. He had a burning to desire to ask, ' _like what?'_ but a stronger desire to change the topic of conversation to anything else, anything at all. They exited the stairwell into the third floor. It was unpainted with walls of different types of stone. Several machines and old droids were lined up along the walls.

"So, why did the Jedi station you on Alpheridies Master? You are obviously not from here."

"The Jedi did not station me anywhere. There was an opening at a small temple away from the bustle of Coruscant, and I took it. I sacrificed the sun to be away from that place."

"Yeah I don't like Coruscant either sir," Oc'nel agreed. "Had Coruscant been the first other world I ever visited, then I don't think I would have ever left Botha'ahir again."

Grier laughed in earnest at that. "It's not so bad within the walls of the Jedi Temple, but once you get an assignment where you go out and have to interact constantly with the crime, corruption, hopelessness, pollution, politicians… it wears you."

"Yeah, the social life at the Judicial Department is really the only thing keeping me sane," Oc'nel admitted. "I relish every long-term mission to somewhere else, unless it's to a worse place than Coruscant."

"Not begging for a deployment to the Judicial Field Office on Taris, I see," the old man said in a chuckle as they arrived at a fabrication station.

"No, but I wouldn't mind one on Taulus," Oc'nel said thoughtfully.

"Here are your plates."

Oc'nel grabbed a heavy stack of 35 tiny rectangular plates each with a name on them. The plates were magnetic and stuck together.

"Would you like me to accompany you to the living quarters to set them up?"

"Yeah sure Master, I could use the company," Oc'nel said brightly, his ears perking up, then thought a second later: _what the hell am I thinking!_

* * *

The living quarters were spartan. Located in the basement level of the Jedi Temple, each room had a power port, a single bed with bedding, a desk, and a chair. Whatever electronics a guest needed had to be brought with the guest. Not a single one had a window.

Each door had a magnet upon which a nameplate could be temporarily affixed. Oc'nel started by just randomly sticking the nameplates on the doors as they came up in order. Master Grier did the same thing on the other set of doors.

Suddenly, Oc'nel pulled out Awerl's nameplate. _Imagine if I put Awerl next to Pax_ he thought humorously.

"Bothan, I don't think mischievous thoughts impress most Jedi."

"Noted Master," Oc'nel said in a matter of fact voice. "I wasn't actually going to do anything. It's just… well here," he said showing Grier the Wookiee's name. "Agent Awerl is honestly insane. No one would want him to sleep next door."

"Hmm…. Well Agent, I suggest spacing him then. There are only 35 of you but we have 40 guest rooms. Why not space him 3 doors away from the nearest neighbour?"

"All right, that sounds like a plan," Oc'nel said, and stuck Awerl's plate to the bottom of the stack.

Oc'nel continued sticking plates to the doors consciously careful not to allow his personal biases to affect the arrangement.

Jazal called his comm.

"Hey Jazal, I am almost finished," Oc'nel answered.

"Great, meet me at the plaque commemorating the end of the Sith Empire when you are done. It's behind the Jedi Statues, in front of the briefing room we'll be using."

"All right," Oc'nel said and hung up.

Oc'nel happened upon his own name plate and stuck it up on the next door.

"Agent, I can finish this up for you. You have a briefing to plan." Grier said.

"Really Master? All right, thanks." Oc'nel gave a bow before he handed the remainder of his stack to Grier then headed up the stairs to the entrance hall.

Approaching the statues of the Miraluka Jedi, Oc'nel wondered when the rest of the Judicials would come back for the evening or maybe night. Some, he supposed, must be planning on travelling to other towns.

Behind the statues, Jazal stood in front of a giant wall-sized plaque. Under the plaque, were a few doors along the giant wall. Carved into plaque, were hundreds of lightsaber-wielding figures fighting at the base of a large triangular structure. Most of the figures wore eyeless helmets, so Oc'nel surmised they must have been Miraluka.

"Whoaaa…"

"Itoll, I know you've heard this before, but stop saying 'whoaaa' so much, it makes you sound like a goof."

"Sorry Jazal," Oc'nel pointed at the plaque, "I was wondering what that is a depiction of."

"Oh, that's the battle before the Scourge of Malachor," Jazal said in a lecturer voice. She pointed to the triangular structure, "we were victorious after a Sith Lord activated the weapon at the top of the Pyramid. He vaporised all of the Jedi and Sith alike and ended the last Sith Empire."

"So, there used to be lots of Miraluka Jedi?" Oc'nel asked. He had wondered why there were so few Miraluka Jedi when Alpheridies had almost 300,000,000 force-sensitive Miraluka.

"Indeed. How could you tell though?" Jazal asked, scratching her chin while looking at him curiously.

"Well, it's a guess really. Most of their masks have no eyes," Oc'nel replied.

"Hmmm," Jazal pondered. "Good observation Itoll. It would be possible though for them to have external cameras of some sort that projected their surroundings onto an internal screen, much like how the bridge of an Acclamator has no windows."

"External cameras Jazal? Back in those days?" Oc'nel asked.

"Our technology has not improved very much since then Itoll, but yes, you are right, those are Miraluka. The Jedi recruited many hundreds of thousands of Miraluka in that war, and we formed an important part of the Republic's Army of Light. Over a hundred thousand Miraluka Jedi were wiped out on Malachor, along with thousands of other Jedi."

"Why do the Jedi consider it a victory over the Sith?" Oc'nel growled curiously. "It sounds like the Sith just committed mass suicide and took many of you with them?"

Jazal laughed at this to Oc'nel's surprise. "You're right. You're completely right, but a Jedi Historian would never put it that way. I have always thought that we, well… like to delude ourselves—but back on topic, the briefing! This way." Jazal began walking towards one of the doors.

It was difficult for Oc'nel to look away from the giant plaque as he followed Jazal down the hallway.

"Master Ov-Bion has given us permission to use this conference room," Jazal gestured into a very brightly lit room. Oc'nel blinked in shock at the brightness. It was the brightest place he had seen since arriving on Alpheridies.

The room was circular and looked like an almost exact replica of the Jedi High Council room on Coruscant, except that it had window-sized viewscreens instead of actual windows. It had only twelve chairs, which each looked like small red-grey couches and were different sizes.

"So, this is why I need your help Itoll. I am familiar with our crew, but seat assignments… I have great difficulty visualising where a being will fit."

"Oh," Itoll said understanding. "Well, for myself… I'll fit here Jazal," he said with a chuckle and took a random seat.

"Stop joking Agent, this is a serious conundrum," Jazal said with a bit of humour.

"Jazal, I don't think we actually need to worry too much. Worst case scenario, some of us can stand. Putting up plaques and organising this is silly."

"You're right," she said slyly, and to Oc'nel's surprise, walked up to where he was seated and sat on his lap facing him.

"Ooooff! Jazal, Master—"

"Relax Bothan… the others are so far away I cannot sense them."

"Well, maybe they can still sense you," Oc'nel growled nervously.

"Good point," she said gripping his snout. She tugged his face up to force him to look into her own.

Oc'nel stared up into her smirking eye-less face getting a little bit worried. "Um, also, I think Master Grier figured it out."

"What?!"

"Your little busy-body, overbearing, Jedi-self called because I was feeling a little bit sad, right when I was on the stairwell with Grier. He doesn't seem to care though. Also, Pax figured it out, I am not sure how."

Jazal sighed. "It's not really that big of a deal. It will only be a big deal if—" Jazal paused as comm started beeping.

"Pax, what is it? I am a little busy," she said as she gently stroked Oc'nel's snout.

Oc'nel opened his mouth to say _I didn't agree to be a little busy right here_ but stopped and listened curiously to the comm. Through the comm, Oc'nel could hear pure chaos. It sounded like a lightsaber was slicing and Wookiees were screaming in terror and rage.

"Jazal! I need help! Averross and Awerl are drunk! They started a fight. This is getting really—"

"Damn. We'll be right there Pax? PAX?!" Jazal yelled.

Pax's voice was replaced with dozens of screams in terror and more Wookiee roars. Oc'nel could hear footsteps from beings running past wherever Pax had dropped his comm. After that, static.

"PAX!" Jazal yelled again.

"BLAST!" Oc'nel said. "I thought Averross might get into a bar fight! Has he ever done this before Master?" he asked as Jazal hopped off his lap.

"I don't know, he's done some serious misdeeds and nearly been expelled from the Order but damn! Come on Agent!" she ordered, pulling him up to his feet.

As they ran out of the briefing room, Master Grier came up the stairs. "Oc'nel, Jazal, you both seem very distressed."

"No time to explain Master!" Jazal panted.

"Master Averross! He got into a bar fight at the New Coronet Cantina!" Oc'nel yelled.

Grier roared with laughter, "Master Averross… Damn that kriffing red neck shell digger."

"It sounded like he got into a barfight with a lightsaber!" Oc'nel yelled more urgently with Jazal pulling him out the door by his hand.

"Oh my…" Grier said. "Well, slow down Agent, Jazal, I am coming."

On their way out the entryway, they happened upon Master Ov-Bion. "Jazal, Grier, Oc'nel, where are you off in such a rush too?"

"Master Averross got into a bar fight and it sounds like he is using his lightsaber," Grier said with weary dread.

Ov-Bion gasped and followed them.

The worried reactions of Jazal and the other Jedi made Oc'nel feel terrified. He imagined Averross going wild, mercilessly hacking patrons to death left and right in a brutal drunken cantina massacre.

Jazal and Oc'nel had slowed to a brisk walk, the fastest pace Master Grier could move at. The four hurried through the gloomy dark streets of Fospol. As they neared the street the New Coronet Cantina was on, Oc'nel overheard two local Miraluka. They were wearing drab un-matching clothes but had police badges displayed on their chests.

"Yeah apparently some spice-head must have stolen a lightsaber and ignited it," one of the cops said in an amused tone.

"You're kidding!" the other one said.

"Some spice-headed Wookiee bounty hunter tried to rob the joint, perhaps he was spice-headed human's friend."

Oc'nel gasped in shock, staring at the two cops, his snout hanging open. He stopped moving and the group moved ahead. The Jedi stopped and Jazal returned, grabbing Oc'nel's wrist and yanking him along again.

"What is it?" she demanded. "We need to move!"

"I think they were talking about Averross and Awerl," Oc'nel said to the whole group. "They think Awerl and Averross were on spice and that they attempted a robbery."

Jazal's jaw clenched in rage and she gripped Oc'nel's wrist harder than ever.

Grier laughed harder than ever, "you know, when I was a Knight, we had a running bet at the Temple on Coruscant as to how Averross would wash out of the Order. I always thought he would break under pressure and resign. Some had more wild theories, such as well… this type of scenario. A fight at a bar, maybe even a fight at a brothel, or perhaps getting yet another Padawan killed."

"You find this amusing Grier?!" Ov-Bion demanded, his voice panting from the brisk walk.

"You… you haven't met Master Averross." Grier replied in a weary voice.

_Well, Jazal does not seem to find this funny._

Jazal looked so furious at this point that Oc'nel did not dare say a word. He kept his mouth shut in patient silence, ignoring the fact that her grip was causing his fingers to tingle from a lack of circulation, ignoring the fact that this must look very unprofessional, and continued following Jazal at her brisk pace allowing her to pull him along. He had never seen her so one-tracked. He felt that he needed to let her keep grabbing his wrist or she might lose control.

"Jazal," Grier said, "do not let your anger consume you. That is a path to the dark side. Master Averross is not worth it. He was fallen long before you were born, and it is nothing but Master Windu's naiveté that has kept him around. Whatever Averross has done will no doubt embarrass the entire Jedi Order for years to come, and he truly does not deserve our forgiveness, but wasting your energy being angry with him is a waste. Feel compassion for the bystanders who may have been hurt."

Sighing loudly, Jazal said "very well Master." She let go of Oc'nel allowing him to walk alongside at his own pace again. "Agent don't stop again, that's an order. I don't care what you hear, see, or smell, Bothan. We need to keep moving."

They continued along down the dimly lit streets passing by many Miralukas sitting on their porches, as if to watch the non-existent day go by with their non-existent eyes. A few minutes later, they walked within sight of the Cantina. The New Coronet Cantina looked like a bomb had gone off inside; several windows were smashed, and a steam was leaking out.

Oc'nel sniffed the air and felt more optimistic. _Good at least no one exploded or got burned alive._ He said cheerfully, "that is steam. It's not smoke; don't worry there's no fire. Perhaps it is dry ice."

"Don't worry—" Jazal snapped but caught herself.

As they got closer, Oc'nel's heart sank once he could see a line of stretchers being floated a meter off the ground. The one at the lead contained Pax, and behind his, Fojo, Carver, and several Miraluka. The back of Pax's head looked like it was bruised purple and bleeding through bandages. He was not moving.

Fojo was moaning while grabbing his own face.

Carver was also laying still.

"Officer! Status report!" Jazal yelled to the nearest cop.

"Masters Jedi, we were about to call you," the Miraluka replied turning to face Oc'nel, Jazal, Ov-Bion, and Grier. "A naked male Wookiee wearing a peacekeeping badge, we suspect he's a bounty hunter, assaulted the Cantina owner. In the chaos, a homeless-looking human with a lightsaber sliced the safe open sending molten metal all over the Cantina burning dozens of patrons. A few were hit by large pieces of debris and suffered severe head trauma. We presume the human was high on spice, but it is an ongoing investigation."

Pausing for a moment, the Miraluka officer then gestured to Pax, knowing exactly where Pax was without turning his head thanks to force sight. "The Duros over there is the most badly injured. The owner says that he was trying to save everyone. The medics aren't sure he will make it and we are getting everyone to the hospital as fast as possible," the officer said urgently. "We have the Wookiee male and the human in custody. Here Master, we got the spice-head's lightsaber for you. We suspect it must belong to one of you," he added in an accomplished voice, beaming proudly holding the lightsaber in front of Jazal. It was as if finding a lightsaber were climax of his entire week.

Jazal silently took Averross's lightsaber and held it. After a brief pause, she clipped it onto her belt on the opposite side from her saber.

"Pax! Fojo!" Oc'nel yelled trying to get closer; the Jedi pulled him back using the force.

"Agent," Grier said in a calm voice, "let us clear this up first… I do not know how to begin though, I admit. The Council would not be happy if we told these cops that Averross is, in fact,a Jedi Master. This is serious misconduct. It could very well get us expelled too if we mishandle it. We must keep this under wraps. Jazal it's your call."

"Oc'nel, effective immediately you are now my second in command of the taskforce. I am declaring Master Averross unfit for duty and I need you to second it since our medic has also been incapacitated," Jazal said without pausing to think.

"Master," Oc'nel started, "might this look a bit corrupt if it ever came out that we—"

"—yes, the Bothan is correct regarding discretion and appearances Jazal. I advise against placing him second in command. It may look like a mutiny," Grier said in a thoughtful voice. "Although, only the most corrupt process imaginable would possibly side with Averross in this matter," he admitted with a dry cynical chuckle.

Jazal said with finality, "Master Grier, I don't have anyone else. Itoll, I trust you with my life and while I admit you are so far from my choice for someone in a leadership position it isn't even funny, you are all I have for now."

Oc'nel felt simultaneously deeply offended and gladdened by Jazal's comment at the same time. _Okay, she trusts me but doesn't think I am leadership material._ "All right Master, I accept. I am second in command. I completely agree Averross is not fit for duty. Now what?"

"First," Jazal paused pulling out her comm. "This is Jazal. I am taking command of the taskforce immediately and putting Agent Itoll Oc'nel second in command. After an altercation at the New Coronet Cantina, Pax has been incapacitated and we have deemed Master Averross no longer fit for duty. We will contact the Republic High Commission and the Jedi Council now. In the meantime, everyone, stay safe out there and stay sober. Any questions?"

Higil's voice echoed worriedly onto the line "is there anything I or my security can do Master Jedi?"

"Not at this time. No, actually there is. Try to stay sober please," Jazal replied.

"Then give Pax my regards," Higil said.

"Will do," Jazal replied.

Driffu's voice came into the comm laughing so hysterically nothing she was saying could be made out.

The fur on Oc'nel's neck and shoulders stood up from rage and swirled with itchy suspicion. _Driffu… she knew!_

"Agent," Jazal replied in a voice with forced calm. "Did you have a force vision that this was going to happen? Is this why you told Awerl he should stay up on the station, and why you yourself stayed up on the station?"

"You know I can't answer that Master," Driffu replied cackling madly through her echoey gas mask.

_Driffu is insane._

"Very well. Driffu, behave yourself, that's an order."

After no one else replied for 10 seconds, Jazal hung up. "If I ever find proof… if I ever find proof that Driffu, that psychopath, knew and let Averross and the others walk into danger without telling me, I'll kriffing have her badge," Jazal swore loudly. "See what I am dealing with Master Grier? That's why I put Oc'nel second in command."

"Indeed…" Grier said in a troubled voice. "I did not realise the Republic Judicial Corps had become so compromised since I left Coruscant."

Jazal turned to face Oc'nel, looking at his face as if she were using eyes. "Now, we go to the Republic High Commission and inform them that the local law enforcement has taken two individuals with diplomatic immunity into custody. Then I contact Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for advice. After that, we go to the hospital."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Oc'nel asked.

"Yes Obi-Wan is a good choice," Grier said in an impressed tone. "He has his head on straight when it comes to Averross."

"Exactly," Jazal replied in a strategic voice.

Oc'nel gulped nervously. His fur pressed into his body in fear.

"What is it Agent?" Grier asked.

"Your… Respectfully Masters Jedi, your politics, cover-ups, all of it, is truly terrifying. The fact all of this is a part of the Republic sends chills down my spine," Oc'nel replied frankly.

Grier chuckled wheezily.

"You're telling me," Jazal muttered.

"Have you never seen the Senate, Agent?" Ov-Bion asked with dry humour.

* * *

The interior of the Republic High Commission building looked like it could have been anywhere on Coruscant. It was very brightly lit lined with marble floors and red and gold carpets. Oc'nel could not help but wonder why they allowed Miralukas to decorate the exterior, but clearly decorated their own interior.

The High Commissioner was a tan three-eyed Gran named Nic Syp who spoke basic with a Core accent and wore a giant shiny purple cloak.

"So, let me get this straight Masters Jedi, Agent…" Syp said in an exasperated tone, "a Wookiee Republic Judicial on your team and your Jedi Master, a taskforce leader, got into a barfight and have been taken into custody."

"Yes Commissioner. Several Agents are injured and the team leader of Extraction Team Cresh seems to be in critical condition," Jazal replied in a forced calm. "Our first step, I believe, is to tell some official, an official you know you can trust, that personnel with diplomatic immunity have been taken into custody. The Miraluka, well, my people can then deport them back up the well, back up the space elevator. The Jedi Council needs to be informed too, but before I contact them… actually, if you don't mind me calling now that we're all here could I call someone?"

Oc'nel gave a tired laugh and swore under his breath. _If someone had ever told me a story about Judicials and a Jedi Master starting a bar fight, I wouldn't have believed it before meeting Averross._

Syp sighed "Yes, call the Jedi," and turned on his Holoprojector. "Whoever we call will see all of us on the other end."

The Holopad gave off a pale blue light after Master Ov-Bion dialled a HoloNumber beginning with a Coruscant sector code: 000.

A voice popped out of the projector, but no face. "This is Master Kenobi, I am having a meal right now and afterwards, I have a sparring session with my Padawan. Who is this?"

"Master Kenobi, this is Jazal, Agent Oc'nel, Master Ov-Bion, Master Grier, and the Republic High Commissioner to Alpheridies, Nic Syp."

"Jazal, what is this about?" Kenobi asked after swallowing some food.

"Master Kenobi, this cannot wait. There has been an incident and I have taken emergency command of the task force and need further instruction."

"Have you informed the High Council?" Kenobi asked.

"Not yet," Jazal admitted. "It's Rael Averross."

"Oh, I see. You are lucky I was even on Coruscant," Kenobi paused. "I will get right back to you."

"Would you like anything to drink?" the High Commissioner asked gesturing to a bottle of Alderaanian wine on a high shelf next to dusty books.

"No Commissioner, none of the Masters, nor Agent Oc'nel, would want any alcohol of any type," Jazal said sternly. It was clear she could not believe the Commissioner had asked.

Master Grier chuckled under his breath.

The Commissioner sat back straighter in his chair and looked like he may have wanted to say something but didn't.

"Could I have a water sir?" Oc'nel asked in a croaky dry voice.

"Yes, I'll get you some," Syp replied, and then walked gingerly out of the room as if afraid of stepping on hunting traps.

The tension in the room was becoming unbearable for the Bothan.

Syp returned with a glass of water and handed it to Oc'nel on his way back to his desk.

Oc'nel took a sip and set the glass down on his armchair. "Thank you, Commissioner," he said gratefully.

"It is no problem, Agent. It sounds like you all are dealing commendably with quite the interstellar catastrophe. I would definitely have lost my mind if any of my people did anything like this Masters Jedi," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Commissioner," Ov-Bion said.

After a few minutes, Obi-Wan Kenobi finally returned their call. This time as a blue hologram, wearing a light-coloured Jedi Robe, seated in a very odd-looking round chair. "This is Master Kenobi."

"Thank you for calling us back Master Kenobi," Jazal replied. "We were in the Temple Crèche together—," she started.

"—I remember of course, and I have met you Master Grier," he said nodding to Master Grier, "and you are?"

"Master Ov-Bion. I have worked here at the Alpheridies Temple since becoming a Knight, so we have never met," he explained.

"Nice to meet you, and you must be the Commissioner?"

"Yes, High Commissioner Nic Syp."

"That must mean you are," Kenobi paused allowing Oc'nel to interrupt.

"Agent Oc'nel acting leader of Extraction Team Cresh sir," Oc'nel started. "It is nice to meet you Master."

"Well Agent, Commissioner, Jazal, Masters Jedi, what is the emergency?" Kenobi asked.

"It is Master Averross—" Jazal started.

Kenobi interjected, "—what did he do this time? For the Council to get involved, my advice, this had better be big."

Jazal sighed. "Master Averross and one Agent named Awerl were involved in an altercation at the New Coronet Cantina and—"

"—well, that doesn't sound like an emergency Jazal. Averross does things like this all of the time. We just have to learn to live with Jedi who don't follow the rules," Kenobi interrupted. He looked impatient.

All of the Jedi in the room started looking more nervous.

"Master, he got into a bar fight using his lightsaber. He brought his lightsaber to a fist fight," Oc'nel said when no one else did.

Kenobi gasped in shock.

"Yes Master, it's true," Grier said. "The local police and paramedics said dozens were injured and we saw patrons being taken on stretchers, many with severe burns."

Jazal added, "the police believe Master Averross and Awerl were attempting a robbery. Master Averross, for some reason we don't understand, cut the owner's safe to pieces sending fragments of molten metal down onto patrons and Republic Judicials present in the bar. It may have actually been a robbery for all I know," Jazal groaned with frustration, then continued. "Pax, Extraction Team Cresh's team leader, is in critical condition and was hit by debris. I have placed Agent Oc'nel in command of Extraction Team Cresh and have assumed command of the task force."

"I agree with your decision Jazal and will alert the rest the High Council at once. May I speak with Averross?"

"Averross is in local custody," Jazal said.

"Oh…" Obi-Wan Kenobi leaned back into his chair, looking almost overwhelmed with this news.

None of the Jedi said anything. Oc'nel wanted to say something to fill the silence but he had no idea what he could say.

"I have contacts in the Alpheridies Government and, if I pull the right strings, I can get Master Averross and Agent Awerl off the planet," Commissioner Syp finally said in a calming voice. "I cannot guarantee that I can keep this under wraps though. I have no control over local media, nor over whether and how frequently the police give press briefings, also Master Kenobi, I am up for re-appointment soon. Put in the good word for me with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine please."

"Very well, I will tell the High Council how helpful you have been," Kenobi said. "Hopefully, the Council will convene an emergency session. I believe they will support your position Jazal. I will call you with the next steps via comm. Try to get Averross and Awerl off the planet, if possible, Commissioner. Not out of the system, just onto the station in orbit. There will be hell to pay for this."

"All right, good luck Master. Oc'nel and I really need to check on the injured now."

"Yes, do that as soon as possible and send me a status update on all injured Judicial personnel so I can pass it on," Obi-Wan ordered before hanging up.

All of the Jedi and the High Commissioner seemed to give sighs of relief.

"At least that went well," Oc'nel said optimistically.


	21. Lir Sey'les

Antar 4

Electricity had been restored to Temba Port, but no civilian craft were in the dark sky. The Antarian Minister of Defence had declared a state of emergency and martial law. _They should have done that before half the Antarian police force defected,_ Sey'les thought upon hearing this news.

This time, their Nu-Class transport descended over Temba Port but then continued on to the east across the bay. Light from Port Ahard was visible, but beyond it, forests could be seen and then nothing. Sey'les stared out the cockpit window towards Port Ahard, geared up for a hot landing along with every other Judicial. She was thinking of Hrelduusk, his family, and that stupid series of decisions that worked out in the end.

"What did you think of Master Suldor?" Savit asked her, breaking the silence.

Sey'les had wanted to talk about Suldor with someone for days. It was a topic itching her Bothan brain. "Arrogant, corrupt, but intelligent I suppose. Dangerously arrogant though."

"Corrupt? Dangerously arrogant?" Savit asked in alarm.

"Eh, I shouldn't say anything more about that," she said. "Let's focus on the dangerously arrogant," Sey'les took a deep breath and paused. _I do not want to rant._ "I'll keep it short. He led us on that botched mission with intel that came from a dream. We were successful up to the point where his dream stopped being right, and in the aftermath, the whole Antarian police force melted. Last night, I was helping tie up a loose end, saving a cop Suldor all but abandoned. Before then? I literally had to put my face all over High Commission staff to find bombs embedded in them that Suldor did not foresee."

The pilots were both turned around, staring at Sey'les with their little human mouths open in shock.

"Fly the damn shuttle!" Sey'les snarled angrily.

"Sorry ma'am," one of the pilots, Val Sagh, said.

Sey'les turned back to Savit. "I am not totally innocent either. I disrespected Suldor a bit, and well... it might have contributed to his bad decisions," she admitted, pushing her helmet up from her eyebrows. "Still though. It was messed up even without me in the picture. The only reason the Assembly Senator didn't kill Suldor, the Antarian police, the pilots, and my whole team with his bomb is that I happened to be able to hear the detonator. Without me, everyone would have almost certainly have died. I know that sounds cocky, but it's true. Suldor just happened to have a 'weak-minded predator' present, a Bothan, who happened to be able to hear the detonator. It was luck that we all survived."

Savit looked down at the ground at hearing this.

"My theory?" Sey'les continued completely unprompted. "Master Suldor must be senile or something. I really have no idea though. Honestly, Savit, I am just glad we are going in today without the Jedi."

Savit sat back in his jump seat, his face looking a bit paler. "Master Tursk seemed all right."

"Yeah," Sey'les agreed. "I only talked to her once though."

"She seemed to be following Suldor's lead. I wonder if she knew that Suldor's intelligence came from dreams…" Savit pondered.

"I have no idea," Sey'les admitted.

"Sey'les, we are two minutes from your landing zone," Sagh said.

"All right," Sey'les turned on her mic. "Team Muun, we are nearing the landing zone, if you don't already have your helmets on, get them on. Get your night-vision goggles ready too."

"We are ready down here Sey'les," Wulf replied.

Sey'les cautiously reached to the top of her helmet to make sure she had not forgotten to attach her NGVs. _Phew_. She pulled them down over her eyes to make sure they were on, then pushed them back up. Unlike the Antarian ones Hrelduussk had given her, these ones did not fall down to her snout but were suspended from her helmet.

The shuttle began descending and stopped. Sey'les got up from her jump seat and started walking down the stairs to the compartment where the teams were seated.

"Good luck out there Sey'les," Savit said.

"Yeah, good luck out there," the pilots both echoed.

"Thanks, and you too," Sey'les replied.

When she reached the larger lower compartment, Team Muun was already up and standing.

"Remember Agents," Captain Ozzel's voice suddenly came through the feed into Sey'les's ears. "You need to be fast, but not too fast. Stealth is key. The other team is depending on you not being spotted."

Sey'les had almost forgotten Ozzel had assumed complete control of her mission. "Roger that, brisk tactical walk, got it everyone?" Sey'les asked.

"Solid copy," Weequi said.

"Copy that," Hashtivar said with a sigh of relief.

_That little Chelidae is probably just happy he doesn't have to run_.

The other members of Team Muun nodded in acknowledgement. Sey'les proceded out the door and looked in every direction. _No heat signatures other than those from the transport._ "Clear. Rally on me," she whispered into the comm.

The rest of Team Muun hopped out gingerly and walked up to her. Hashtivar fell in immediately behind her followed by Nor, F'laro, Weequi, and Wulf at the rear.

As they walked forwards, the only heat signatures Sey'les could make out were her own team, the dim glows from the trees, and the thick puff of hot breath coming from her snout when she exhaled. Antar 4 had been in the eclipse of Antar for two days. Every region on the planet had cooled. It was now just a little above freezing temperature so there were not even any insects flying around.

Sey'les wished she could jog to warm up. However, they maintained their brisk walk through the night-time air. When Sey'les was growing up in a sub-polar region on Bothawui, she grew a thick winter coat and could have tolerated these temperatures. After years of living in the more temperate part of Bothawui while attending the Martial Academy, and then almost a decade on Coruscant, her fur never grew in quite as thickly.

Occasionally a member of her team would step on a large branch and it would snap loudly, making everyone nervous. There was no sign of a reaction however from anyone or anything.

A cold wet sensation hit her nose. She looked up; it had begun to snow lightly. After a few minutes, Sey'les's ears began feeling like they would freeze. "Anyone else need to put on a warm hat?" Sey'les asked, feeling guilty about not having covered her ears already.

"Yeah," Hashtivar said.

She felt foolish when she realised Wulf already wore his blue beanie under his helmet.

"Okay everyone, rally one me. Wulf keep a look out. Everyone else, put your warm hat on if you need it. Be quiet though," Sey'les instructed, taking her backpack off and opening it slowly. She pulled her blue beanie from the main pouch, lifted her NGVs from her eyes, took her helmet off, plopped the beanie on her head. _That's better._

"Muun Leader?" Captain Ozzel said, adding, with a bit of dry humour: "Is everything all right down there? Our telemetry shows you have either removed your helmet or have been decapitated."

"Yes, sir I just took off my helmet. No decapitations here. It is just colder than I was prepared for, sorry, sir, I am putting on a hat," Sey'les admitted awkwardly, putting her helmet back on.

"Very well, don't tarry too long Muun Leader," Ozzel ordered in a huffy tone.

"Almost done sir," Sey'les whispered, waiting for Hashtivar to finish zipping his backpack up.

_I should probably be a bit less harsh on them_ , Sey'les thought guiltily.

"All right, let's move," Sey'les whispered.

Team Muun continued on without stopping. Eventually, they arrived at a clearing where the trees began thinning. Light from the structure was visible from the second floor and third floor. The lowest floor, the one they were supposed to breach, had no windows. It looked like the scaffolding was more or less a series of ramps connecting to the second floor.

"Does that look suspicious to you Wulf?" Sey'les asked.

Wulf paused for a moment, then said, "Yep. That looks very suspicious. Now that I'm closer… I think whoever's inside enters from the second floor. The bottom floor looks deserted."

Sey'les scooted back behind the tree line with her team. "This is Muun Leader to Judicator Actual, over."

"This is Judicator Actual," Captain Ozzel's voice replied.

"I am requesting permission to breach the second floor."

"The second floor?!"

"Yes, sir," Sey'les answered. "It's a long story but now that we are closer my team and I agree that the occupants of the building probably aren't using the first floor to enter. It may be storage or even just abandoned. I think the building plans we have are outdated. If we actually want to hit the people inside, we need to hit them where they actually are."

"Muun Leader, perhaps we could do a compromise given the information you provided."

"A compromise sir?!" Sey'les asked in a shocked whisper. Her eyes went wide under her NGVs and her snout hung agape.

Wulf, Nor, and Weequi laughed in whispers.

"Compromise!" Hashtivar exclaimed. "I don't think Captain Ozzel knows what he is doing Sey'les," he whispered quietly after muting his mic.

_What could Captain Ozzel possibly be talking about?_

"A compromise. Rather than breaching the first floor loud as a distraction, enter it quietly and ascertain the situation as Team Aurek lands on the roof. Maintain communication with me of course. If it turns out our building plans are right, then sneak up the stairs as Team Aurek lands. I imagine the building could hold servers or something on the ground floor, servers which the occupants may be desperate to erase."

"So, Team Aurek will be the only loud breach now?" Sey'les growled nervously. Her fur flattened tightly into her body in fear.

"Correct. I will brief Team Aurek. My working plan is for Yellow-2 to deploy Team Aurek onto the roof and they will breach it loudly while you sneak in."

"Copy that Judicator Actual…" Sey'les croaked in an uncertain voice. _Working plan?!_

Team Muun sat in the bushes, waiting for Ozzel to give them the go ahead.

A few minutes later Captain Ozzel called back. "Team Muun, you are clear for a silent breach."

"All right move to the structure silently and form on me, Wulf, you scan the door," Sey'les ordered as she stepped into the clearing, Wulf alongside her. The light from the building was glowing in her infrared and the walls were dimmer.

_This seems almost as stupid and spontaneous as Hrelduussk's plan._

Sey'les stood at the wall with Weequi, Nor, F'laro, and Hashtivar behind her each one with one hand on the other's back. Across the doorway Wulf was scanning the door for traps with a rod-shaped device.

Wulf passed the results on his readout across the door to Sey'les. **"NO THREATS DETECTED."**

_All right._ Sey'les pulled her demagnetiser out of her vest from the opposite pocket her door charges were in. She silently handed the demagnetiser to Wulf without saying a word.

Without saying a word, Wulf stuck the flat circular demagnetiser on the door. After five seconds the door seal unlocked itself and the demagnetiser fell onto the wet grass.

Sey'les moved her fist and tapped Weequi, who tapped Nor, who tapped F'laro, who tapped Hashtivar. Then Hashtivar tapped F'laro and the tapping went all the way down the team back to Sey'les. _We're ready._

Cautiously pushing the door open, Sey'les ran to the right-side corner and then turned to the left, Weequi went to the left side corner and then turned right. _All the corners in the entry are clear_.

Sey'les moved into the next room and turned right again, Weequi turned left, Nor followed and Hashtivar followed Sey'les.

"All clear," Sey'les whispered.

"All clear," Weequi agreed.

"All clear," Wulf said, aiming his blaster into a closet inspecting a bit more closely.

_"Jeeza geewaz."_ [It is clear,]F'laro said.

Sey'les started focusing more on the centre of the room. There were dozens of random old wooden desks. It looked almost like they were arranged in a way that forced whoever wanted to cross the room into the centre—almost forming walls. There was a staircase beyond the desks, not accessible from the corner Sey'les was standing in. A complex maze of pipes spanned the ceiling, but they looked like they transported liquids. This was certainly not a datacentre.

Team Muun regrouped towards the centre of the room where the desks formed a clearing to the stairs.

"All right Judicator Actual, we are in the building," Sey'les whispered.

"Very well, Team Aurek is clear to land."

Moments later, the ceiling began shaking as the Nu-Class Transport descended on the third floor.

Sey'les suddenly noticed a new light had turned on. The room suddenly began feeling hotter.

"Not clear," Sey'les whispered first and began edging towards the exit backwards. "We need to fall back," she whispered.

Targeting lasers emitted from several walls, one aiming right into Sey'les's goggles.

Sey'les was the only one moving. She yelled to her team "I SAY AGAIN NOT CLEAR."

"What is it is Muun Leader?!" Captain Ozzel's voice bellowed into the comm.

"NOT CLEAR! FALL BACK!" Sey'les screamed.

Wulf jumped on a desk climbed onto into the pipes above the lasers, "No time to fall back CLIMB!"

Sey'les climbed on the table under Wulf.

Wulf grabbed Sey'les with his upper two arms at his shoulders, then passed her feet to his lower two arms closer to his waist. He dangled Sey'les up upside down.

Sey'les's helmet nearly fell off and her blood rushed to her head. Sey'les adjusted her helmet straps, then instinctively grabbed Hashtivar who had just climbed onto the table and pulled him up, struggling to get him above the laser line. She didn't order Hashtivar onto the table, nor did she explicitly say _I am picking you up._ Sey'les just figured Hashtivar was too short to climb.

Wulf reached down with his upper two arms and pulled Hashtivar up from Sey'les's grasp. Hashtivar and Sey'les were now both dangling under Wulf like parts of a chandelier, with Hashtivar dangling slightly lower.

Climbing was so far from Sey'les's instincts that she would have never thought of it. Wulf's idea made sense, however, even as she dangled upside down.

"CLIMB! EVERYONE CLIMB!" Sey'les screamed.

Blasterfire began ringing out in the floors above them. Weequi and Nor jumped on two different desks struggling to get higher, but none of the short beings could reach the pipes or jump as high as Wulf had.

F'laro jumped onto the table Wulf, Sey'les, and Hashtivar had used and grabbed Hashtivar. He began trying to use Sey'les to climb higher screaming in Bocce. He was tugging out tuffs of Sey'les's fur in a panic.

Sey'les grabbed F'laro and tried pulling him up to her. She could get him in the air, but not above the laser line.

"I can't pull you all!" Wulf yelled in a panic.

"PASS US INTO THE PIPES!" Sey'les roared, but it was too late.

The lights from the lasers started to become blinding in Sey'les's night vision goggles.

A searing jet of plasma emerged from one of the lights in one of the corners and connected with Weequi and the table he was on. The Ugnaught was cut in half and the desk where he was standing burst into flames.

Nor screamed for a moment before another jet of plasma from another corner caught her, searing through her body diagonally like a lightsaber. Her armour vest split in a deafening crackle louder than she had screamed.

A wave of plasma scorched horizontally through the entire room from a new bar of light extending from where the staircase ended, all the way to the opposite wall. Hashtivar's backpack was hanging very low and the plasma scorched it directly and sliced into F'laro.

Sey'les screamed as the fire spread from her gloves to her sleeves, but she did not let go of F'laro.

F'laro's entire lower body vaporised. Sey'les let go as the flames spread to her more intensely and F'laro's lifeless torso fell into the fiery abyss.

The temperature in the room rose at least 80 degrees. Sey'les and Hashtivar screamed in terror and pain over Captain Ozzel yelling incomprehensibly into her comm. Sey'les could feel that some of her fur was on fire. All Sey'les could feel was panic. _I am going to burn to death!_

To Sey'les's horror, Wulf let go of one of her legs and allowed her to swing precariously. He took his free arm, reached into his pack, and threw a smoke grenade into the blaze. The room was quickly blanketed the room in thick smoke. Wulf dropped Sey'les and Hashtivar onto a burning table, then leapt down beside them.

Hashtivar was screaming.

Sey'les screamed and collapsed on her knees.

Hashtivar's shell was on fire and he screamed even louder.

Wulf leapt down, pulled his jacket off, and threw it onto Hashtivar's shell. The fire went out, but the jacket melted and sizzled.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Hashtivar screamed once more.

Sey'les let off another yell herself. Every breath felt like it was burning her. She began coughing and vomited. The room smelled horrifyingly like Nuna bacon. All she could smell was her breakfast. "AAAAHHHH!" she yelled herself, tears welling in her eyes. Her snout, face, neck, wrists, hands felt like they were on fire. _No not 'like' they were on fire. They had been on fire._ _I am going to die. We are all dead._

She felt a tug at on her backpack. She looked over and saw one of Wulf's Ardennian arms grab Hashtivar. Sey'les fell back onto her buttocks and allowed herself to be pulled by her backpack. She could see only a meter in any direction through the smoke. The view in her NGVs was beginning to crackle and become staticky.

"MUUN LEADER! SEY'LES!" Ozzel's voice yelled into her earpiece, Sey'les was able to finally focus on it. "We aren't getting any readings from F'laro, Weequi, or Nor! Your telemetry shows the air is boiling temperature! GET THE KRIFF OUT OF THERE! TEAM AUREK GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" he bellowed.

The cold Antarian air engulfed her the moment Wulf pulled them through the doorway but all she could now see was **"ERROR"** in red letters on a black background. She ripped off her night vision goggles from her helmet, dropped them to the ground, and gazed around in shock.

It was now pouring down snow. Wulf collapsed in a slushy snow puddle and yelled in despair after laying Hashtivar and Sey'les next to each other.

Hashtivar was on his belly with his burnt back shell exposed through Wulf's melted rain jacket. It was still smoking.

Frantically, Sey'les began patting mud and slush onto her own fur. She got on her knees, grabbed a blob of mud and snow, and splashed it on Hashtivar's smoking shell. His shell had a hole in it where his backpack had burned away.

"I can't feel my legs…" he moaned.

"You're the medic, tell me what to do!" Sey'les ordered, starting to ruffle through her backpack for a few first aid supplies. Hashtivar's med kit had been vaporised.

Hashtivar just moaned.

Blasterfire was still going on in the house.

Sey'les thought of grabbing a blaster and aiming it at a window in case someone shot at her, but then realised she had dropped her blaster when she grabbed Hashtivar.

Wulf started angrily replying to Captain Ozzel in the comm. "This is Muun-2. COMPROMISE! Compromise? I've got a kriffing compromise for you Judicator Actual. I got Sey'les and Hashtivar out alive, with serious burns, Nor, Weequi, and F'laro dead—"

"Wulf!" Sey'les yelled with dread after looking in Wulf's direction. "Your face is on fire!"

"AAAHHHHH!" Wulf yelled in a panic and started splashing snow onto his face. His grey fur stopped smoking as he collapsed on the grass moaning.

"This is Muun Leader," Sey'les coughed. Then she growled, "to say we need immediate rescue is an understatement. Savit, Team Aurek, stay clear of the ground floor. It's a trap filled with plasma torches and lasers. Hashtivar is burned to a crisp but alive, Wulf and I are burned, Nor, F'laro—" Sey'les started sobbing as she noticed the Nuna bacon smell again, this time accompanied with a more generic smell of charred meat. She vomited in shock once more and lay in the grass dry heaving.

"Muun Leader? MUUN LEADER! SEY'LES?!" Captain Ozzel yelled again in a panic.

After Sey'les stopped dry heaving she yelled "KRIFF," in a throaty dying voice. "Give me a smoke grenade Wulf."

Wulf passed her one.

Sey'les stood up realising her legs still worked and started concocting a plan. "Judicator Actual, I am going to fill the basement with smoke again and—" She stopped as all of the lights turned in the building off.

"Hold your position Muun Leader," Captian Ozzel said.

"That won't be necessary Sey'les," Savit's voice said. "Hold on tight. We have cut the power and are moving to your position to assist."

A door opened onto the scaffolding and six humans emerged from the building with their flashlights turned on.

Sey'les stood there holding a smoke grenade, snout hanging open, still torn between throwing the smoke grenade into the basement or waiting for Savit.

Cas gasped in shock as she got closer to Sey'les. "Sey'les sit down!" she urged, her med kit already out.

Sighing, Sey'les said "check on Hashtivar first," and pointed her singed muddy glove in his direction.

"KRIFF!" Cas yelled in shock as she walked up to Hashtivar.

Hashtivar began sobbing.

"Sey'les," Savit urged as he approached her. "Sit down please. You are injured. You can't go back in there."

"We need to get F'laro, Nor, Weequi and our lost equipment," Sey'les choked her words out.

Fenron and Savit each grabbed one of Sey'les's shoulders and forced her to sit down. "We'll get them, what exactly is the situation in there?"

"Plasma torches," Wulf moaned while lying in the grass. "There are plasma torches guided by lasers. Burnt desks. The lasers can be blocked by smoke. Hopefully when you cut the power you turned them off too."

Fenron, Savit, and Tonkins entered the smoky room. 30 seconds later Sey'les could hear Fenron dry heaving, then vomiting, then telling Savit and Tonkins he will be okay.

_I wonder if humans can smell that too_ , she thought, then stopped herself as she felt like she may vomit again.

As Sey'les calmed down, she started to realise exactly how she had been injured. Every piece of her that was not covered in armour or a uniform was singed. Her sleeves had burned off up to her armpits and singed them too. Her boots and legs seemed to be fine. Sey'les looked at Cas, Rigel, and Archard fumbling around with Hashtivar.

"Hashtivar, can you speak?" Cas asked sternly. "I don't understand your anatomy. My instinct is just to put bacta on your shell, what should I do?"

"Ughhh…" Hashtivar moaned. "Put some on it. It couldn't do any harm," he groaned. "Also, please put some between my plastron and carapace. Hopefully, some Bacta will get in when I retract my arms."

"Plastron and Carapace?" Cas asked.

"He means his top and bottom shell," Sey'les groaned. She got up and started walking closer. Cas, Archard, and Rigel looked at Sey'les, clearly wondering whether or not she should be walking.

"I am sorry," Cas said as she wiped some cream on Hashtivar's little arms.

"The humans are just trying to help," Sey'les said, sitting down in the wet mix of slush and mud near Hashtivar. "They don't understand, it's okay though you just have to explain."

Hashtivar pulled his arms into his shell then plopped them back out. He laid his head on the muddy frosty slushy grass not saying a word.

Sey'les could hear two Nu-Class shuttles rotating around the building. One shone a spotlight on her and everyone in the grass. Snow fell through the sky, casting tiny shadows under the spotlight.

"Hashtivar, what hurts?" Cas asked.

"Medic to medic," Hashtivar started, "I am going to be crippled—"

"—I am sure they can find you a new shell" Cas replied consolingly.

"This isn't _Voof the Chelidae Assassin_ Cas," Hashtivar said sharply. "That's not how it works. This is not a HoloCartoon. My spine is in my shell. They don't kriffing come off any more than your spine can. My spine is burned, and my ribs probably are too. Honestly, there is a good chance I am dead already but can't feel it."

"You're going to make it," Sey'les insisted sternly. "We aren't going to be doing that run around the Judicial Arcology, but you are going to survive." She wanted to pat Hashtivar's head but was afraid it might rub off his skin and cause more damage. _Kriff. My own hands…_

Rigel knelt next to Sey'les and began wiping a Bacta burn cream on her snout. "How do you feel Sey'les?" he asked.

"I got burned on everything that wasn't covered in uniform or armour," she said in a forced calm. "My armpits and snout hurt the—OUCH!" Sey'les yelped as Rigel smeared some burn cream directly on her nose. "OUCH!" she yelped again as the burning sensation became more intense.

"Sorry Sey'les!" Rigel said in a terrified voice.

"It's okay," Sey'les said. "I need it. My nose is burned too. Just give me some warning. Human, imagine if I took two fingers covered in cream and just stuffed them in your nose without telling you I was going to."

"Sorry, I didn't know—"

"—I said it's okay," Sey'les sighed. "Thank you."

"No worries," he replied in a relieved voice and started putting globs on the other side of her snout.

Now all Sey'les could smell was the wheaty scent of Bacta. _At least I won't have to smell them anymore_ , Sey'les thought, and then began crying once more.

Rigel took of Sey'les's gloves, globbed some onto her hands, and then wrapped her hands in thick layers of gauze.

Once her hands were bandaged, Sey'les grabbed her bag, pulled out her thick blue cold weather trench-coat and slipped it on. She grabbed a spare blanket out and dropped it on Hashtivar's back.

"Sey'les, could you take off your helmet?" Cas asked after she walked over. "I just want to make sure you're alright."

Sey'les took off her helmet, her beanie, and hung her helmet from one of her canteens.

"Good, your ears and head look fine," Cas said as she shone a flashlight on them. "No burns there."

Sey'les wiped the tears out of her eyes with the sleeve of her trench-coat. She winced as she felt some fur and skin come off under the sleeve. _That was a mistake._

"Rigel, could you help with my arms?" Sey'les asked sniffling, unravelling her sleeves.

"Sure Sey'les," he said and began applying it to her arms.

"Wulf how are you doing?" Cas asked as she plopped down next to Wulf. Wulf began explaining everything that hurt. Cas took Wulf's blue trench-coat from his backpack and helped him put it on.

Savit, Fenron, and Tonkins emerged from the building carrying parts of her fallen team members. They all wore looks of horror on their faces before they turned to go back in.

Sey'les wanted to help, but she knew it would do no good. She was often frustrated by being ordered to hurry to a location and then sit around doing nothing. This was a new extreme. She and her team were burned and sitting around while two perfectly good ships orbited overhead.

On the third trip out, Savit emerged holding a pile of blasters. To Sey'les's amazement, hers was intact. "That's mine, thanks," she said, stretching out her bandaged hand.

Savit looked for a moment like it may not be a good idea to let Sey'les use her hands but handed it to her without saying a word. He looked completely haunted.

Sey'les stuffed her blaster in its holster and felt much better. Even though Sey'les had been burned, even though she had lost three beings under her command, she felt very guilty for having lost her blaster in combat. It was drilled into Judicials at the Academy to never lose one's blaster.

"Savit?" Sey'les asked.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for getting them out. I know it wasn't easy," she said sadly.

"It was necessary," he said simply. "You would have done the same in my position."

"Yeah," Sey'les croaked. She was finding it difficult not to growl. "What's going on Savit? Why are we still here?"

"Captain Ozzel says four unidentified ships started firing on the _Judicator_. We can't do much until the situation is resolved and the intelligence team is—"

"WHAT?!" Sey'les asked in shock. "Four ships? Like I reported to him on my after-action report yesterday, right?"

"This is the first I am hearing—" Savit started.

"—Kriffing Jedi…" Wulf yelled. His face was now covered in Bacta burn cream. "Suldor must have not told Captain Ozzel what we saw!"

Sey'les wrote about having seen the Gotal Assembly communicating with ships in orbit but Wulf was right. Suldor must not have told anyone. Captain Ozzel probably had not read her report yet.

"Savit?" Cas asked interrupting their conversation.

"Yes?"

"The longer we let Sey'les, Wulf, and Hashtivar sit in the cold mud down here, the greater the risk of infection. I would like to get them up to a transport even if the transport can't return to the _Judicator_ immediately. Hashtivar is not even warm-blooded so there's a chance he may run into complications from how cold it is."

"You're right," Savit said. "Move Sey'les, Wulf, and Hashtivar towards the clearing between here and the tree line. There is no way I am letting the transport land on that roof. Do we have any heat pads for Hashtivar?"

"There should be one on the transport," Cas shrugged.

Sey'les and Wulf stood up as Cas and Fenron gingerly picked up Hashtivar and put him on a stretcher.

The glob of burn cream on Sey'les's face was beginning to feel very cold. At first it was soothing, but then it started to become uncomfortably cold as the wintry air and snow blew in her face.

As she sat in the new landing zone, suddenly a blinding flash of light that lit up the entire clearing, followed by a loud sound from an explosion. In her earpiece and everyone else's earpieces, a general distress yelled "This is Yellow-3 we are going down!"

Sey'les looked up in terror. The second Nu-class shuttle, the one that was higher up circling overhead. The one carrying the _Judicator's_ intelligence personnel was on fire and crashing out of view.

The Nu-class sitting stationary overhead began ascending to get to a higher altitude. An explosion emitted from two of its sides as unseen projectile cut through it. Debris rained down on the Judicial teams below as it started spinning out, tumbling towards the ground.

Sey'les instinctively lifted her blaster and turned to face the direction the loud noises had come from. The humans were panicking.

Savit began yelling " _Judicator,_ this is Aurek Leader! We have lost both Nu-class transports. I say again we have lost both—"

—The nearest Nu-class crashed 30 meters from where they were standing. The shockwave knocked everyone over. The heat was the warmest Sey'les had felt since being burned in the basement. Cas screamed in terror. The crash was completely un-survivable.

Sey'les had suffered far too much loss for her Bothan brain to be any sadder or any more shocked. Now, she saw everyone else panicking and felt like she was the only one with her wits about her.

"Fall back behind the tree line!" Sey'les yelled in croaky growl, putting her blaster back in its holster and picking up half of Hashtivar's stretcher. She waited for one of the humans to help. Her hands felt like they were blistering under her bandages.

"Sey'les is right!" Savit yelled, "Grieve later! Fall back!" He started helping Cas up.

Fenron grabbed the other half of the stretcher and he and Sey'les began running behind the tree line. Sey'les could hear footsteps and Gotals yelling orders and baaing excitedly in the distance.

"They are almost here!" Sey'les yelled in a whisper. Once she set down Hashtivar's stretcher, she grabbed her helmet which she had hung off her vest and put it back on. The humans were forming a defensive line along the trees. Wulf held two blasters and hunkered down next to them.

"This is Yellow Leader," Lina's voice sounded in Sey'les's earpiece. "We have lost both transports. They are trying to shoot me down with a rail gun—"

"—Get to a higher altitude!" Savit yelled into his comm.

Sey'les could hear explosions from something shooting into the sky in the distance. Another sound drew closer—the sound of a speeder of some sort. Sey'les turned from Hashtivar's stretcher, faced in the direction of Savit and his team, and whispered "I hear a—"

A stream of rapid blaster fire cut between the trees at the edge of the treeline, impacting several trees immediately behind Sey'les. A bulky civilian speeder had floated in front of the house into the middle of the clearing with a makeshift turret on top.

To Sey'les's shock, Tonkins lifted her blaster—

"Wait!" Savit whispered in an order.

Simultaneously Sey'les whispered, in alarm, "Hold your fire!"

_Too late._ Tonkins had already begun squeezing her trigger. A blaster shot emitted from her pistol and hit the side of the speeder. Tonkins took cover as the speeder blasted a stream of much more accurate fire in their direction. Archard, Tonkins, and Cas screamed in terror as blaster shots impacted centimetres over their head, branches and globs of steaming smoke falling on them.

"FALL BACK!" Sey'les snarled, grabbing Hashtivar's stretcher and dragging it all by herself. "CRAWL!" she added in a yet angrier snarl as the humans looked like they were going to run towards her, right through the Gotal line of fire.

_Tonkins. Kriffing human idiot!_

Wulf, Savit, Tonkins, Cas, Rigel, Archard, and Fenron crawled towards Sey'les's position. A tree fell down and the blasterfire stopped.

"AHHH!" Sey'les yelled in horror, unable to see if it had crushed them. Her brain assumed the worst. _They're all—_

_—_ right as Sey'les began to think everyone had been squashed, Savit clambered over the fallen tree and fell clumsily onto the other side, now covered in mud. Wulf fell right next to him. Archard, Cas, and Tonkins found a space wide enough to fit under and crawled through.

Once they were sufficiently far from the clearing, Wulf cautiously stood up and everyone else followed him and began walking to Sey'les.

"Yellow Leader this is Muun Leader requesting immediate fire on the clearing—"

"—Muun Leader this is Yellow Leader. I strongly recommend moving through the forest to the North. No amount of air support I give can stop this. I am now detecting over 100 heat signatures on the ground and several dozen are cutting through the woods in multiple directions to your location. Hopefully the situation in space will resolve itself by then."

"BLAST!" Sey'les replied. "100?"

"My targeting computer says at least 107. They are a swarm. Pull back to the north—"

"—Republic forces," a booming Gotal voice on a megaphone drowned out every other noise. "You are outnumbered and surrounded. Surrender."

Fenron stopped walking and turned around to face the noise. "Kriff that!" he whispered angrily. "They kriffing cut off Master Tursk's head. Kriff that!"

"I agree," Savit whispered. "Fenron, if you don't want your family back on Coruscant to see you get decapitated by one of those psychopaths on the Galactic news, then I suggest you MOVE AGENT!" he whispered harshly pushing Fenron forward.

The comment reminded Sey'les of how young some of these humans were _. Fenron must be 21 or 22,_ she thought.

Cas helped Sey'les with Hashtivar's stretcher and everyone began walking away from the clearing as fast as possible.

Walking backwards while wearing a trench-coat was a challenge for Sey'les. She had to deliberately not step so far backwards that she stepped on her coattails. She winced as she felt one of her blisters pop under her bandages.

Her thoughts wandered to guilt over how useless she was when she caught fire. _When we caught fire._ If it weren't for Wulf, they would have all burned alive. She thought she was tough enough to keep her wits about her in any situation. The pain of catching fire was indescribable. Smelling her team burned to a crisp was almost bad. She could not even think about it without crying.

As guilty as Sey'les felt, she was very impressed with how Wulf performed. _I suppose I never thought 'catching on fire' was a likely situation. We need to keep everyone alive, the humans and my team. No one else dies—_

"—I am detecting eleven heat signatures closing in right where you are walking to," Lina's voice said. They are less than 50 meters away, walking close to one another.

"Wait here," Savit said, "Wulf, Fenron, Rigel you are with me!" he said.

Sey'les and Cas set down Hashtivar's stretcher.

"Don't shoot unless I say so," Sey'les growled to her as she aimed her blaster into the dark trees. "And tell me if you see any. My night vision goggles melted."

"I am sorry Sey'les I—"

"—We don't have time for this. This is not a reprimand. I am stating facts. Three of us are dead, Agent. Wulf, Hashtivar, and I are burned. There are over 100 of them. If we want to survive, we have to be sneaky," she whispered, flexing her hand trying to relieve the pain. Sey'les took a deep breath into her nose and smelled only Bacta.

Blasterfire and the sounds of Gotals and Koorivars screaming echoed from where Savit, Wulf, and Fenron had gone.

"All clear, come to our position," Savit whispered a few seconds later.

"On our way, don't shoot us," Sey'les whispered as she picked up Hashtivar's stretcher. Cas picked up the other end.

"Hashtivar?" Sey'les asked

"Yes?" he replied in a quiet whisper.

"Are you doing all right?"

"Getting a bit cold, other than that, the same," Hashtivar whispered.

Tonkins followed Cas and Sey'les a few moments later, cautiously looking back and aiming her blaster in the trees.

Savit, Wulf, and Fenron were standing amongst a pile of dead Gotals and Koorivars. One of them had a comm in his ear. Someone was yelling into it on the other end in a language Sey'les did not understand.

"Do you speak Gotal, Sey'les?" Fenron asked.

"Nope," Sey'les whispered, then she took a swig of water from her canteen. "Everyone drink-up!" she whispered.

Savit did not argue and took a sip from his own canteen. Wulf and the humans did too.

Hashtivar had a look on his face like he wanted water.

Sey'les tipped her canteen near Hashtivar's face and poured some into his mouth without asking.

Hashtivar took a few gulps.

"All right, let's move," Savit whispered.

* * *

Twenty minutes into their retreat into the forest, Lina informed Savit and Sey'les that their path ahead looked clear, but she was being called back to the _Judicator_ and could no longer provide intel. The _Judicator_ sounded like it was in trouble and Captain Ozzel had not spoken to them since immediately after the botched raid on the Gotal Assembly structure.

Thirty minutes, forty minutes, then a miserable hour went by. Every time Sey'les or Savit messaged the _Judicator_ there was no reply. _If anything, anything less than a full-on space battle is happening right now,_ Sey'les thought, _I am going to shoot Captain Ozzel in the kriffing face when I get back._

While the immediate pains of her injuries had been relieved by the burn cream, Sey'les was beginning to feel new pains everywhere. Sore muscles, spots where her newly exposed skin on her arms was chafing. Blisters continued forming and popping on her hands.

Wulf looked absolutely miserable too.

The ground had very little snow on it but every once in a while, a huge glob would fall from one of the tree branches landing amongst them.

"I don't think he has forgotten about us, Cas," Savit said as the humans began arguing again.

"Shouldn't we be the ones complaining?" Wulf said gesturing to Sey'les and Hashtivar. "Why is it always you guys?"

Sey'les wished that Suldor had allowed her team to go to the state reception. Unlike Sey'les, Wulf and Hashtivar were very impatient with these humans. They never got to know any of them, and it would have been a great trust-building exercise for Wulf and Hashtivar to interact with them outside of work.

None of Wulf's or Hashtivar's friends on Coruscant were human, but all most of their superiors were. Sey'les thought Tonkins was an idiot, Cas was always thinking of home and would not stop catastrophising, but Sey'les trusted Savit, and Rigel seemed nice enough.

_I would probably be thinking of home too if I had kids_ , Sey'les thought, thinking of Cas. "Calm down Wulf," Sey'les growled. "We are all on edge. We've all been shot at. We are all outnumbered."

Annoyed at her constant growls, Sey'les tried moaning to see if she could make a voice that wasn't a growl. All that happened was a whiny sore-throat noise. _Damn._

"Are you all right Sey'les?" Cas asked in a concerned voice.

"My voice is messed up," Sey'les growled. "Probably the fire, screaming, yelling, vomiting, seeing—seeing them die, smelling them die," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. _Damn why do I keep doing that._

"We need to grieve later," Savit whispered in a worried voice as if afraid she might break down.

Sey'les felt like she might get angry with him if she said anything. _He's right_ , she thought. _I don't think I can just put that loss on hold though._ Sey'les suddenly realised she could hear rustling from somewhere…

"Shhh, I think someone's over—" Sey'les stopped in horror as she stepped on a squishy, living thing that yelled.

"AAARRRRGH!" a Gotal covered in webbing with leaves to blend into the ground screamed as Sey'les stepped on his arm.

Cas screamed and Fenron yelled obscenities.

Sey'les dropped Hashtivar's stretcher, pulled out her blaster, and shot the Gotal in the head. "They're everywhere!" she yelled while crouching onto her knees, motioning for Cas to set down the other end of the stretcher.

"Sey'les!" Savit yelled. "You can't just shoot anything that moves!"

"Savit, they are everywhere. You might not be able to hear it, but it is an ambush," Sey'les whispered in an urgent growl.

"How could we not see him!?" Tonkins yelled smacking her night vision goggles as if that would fix them.

Blasterfire came in from every direction. A blast hit Tonkins in the back and she fell over without even crying out.

"Tonkins!" Rigel yelled.

Wulf began firing in the direction some of the blasts were coming from. His blasts glowed as they impacted trees. One of his blasts impacted a shadowy figure who screamed.

A large figure came out of nowhere and grabbed Sey'les from behind. Adrenaline surged once more into her system. She snarled in a panic and climbed up him instinctively, biting at his throat. Blood surged into her mouth. Feeling his veins pulsing, she unclamped her snout from his neck.

The Gotal she had bitten fell backwards onto tree roots, grasping at his throat and coughing, dragging Sey'les down to the ground with him.

Getting up on her hands and knees, Sey'les pulled out her blaster and ruthlessly shot the Gotal in the head. Sey'les rolled over next to Hashtivar's stretcher and passed the Gotal's blaster to him.

Lying on his stomach, Hashtivar took the blaster and began firing randomly into the darkness.

Sey'les spat a huge wad of saliva mixed with the Gotal's blood onto the ground.

"Night vision goggles off!" Savit screamed. "They don't—AAAHHH!"

Sey'les spun around. She saw Savit stagger back after being shot, and then take three more shots to the chest. "SAVIT!" she screamed, then began firing into the darkness in the direction Savit had been shot from.

Cas ran over to Savit and took cover while examining him.

Rigel crouched for cover and took off his night vision goggles.

An arm grabbed Sey'les from behind again, this time grappling her blaster. Sey'les tried spinning around. Her bandages began slipping off with the blaster. "AAHHHH!" she yelled in rage then heard a blast.

The figure she was grappling collapsed. Fenron had shot him.

Fenron, Cas, Archard, Rigel, and Wulf fell back to Sey'les and Hashtivar's position. Fenron had to pull Cas away from Savit's body. Rigel and Cas both had tears in their eyes. Wulf looked even more miserable than he had before.

The seven survivors crouched in a root-filled area between four trees. The roots were fairly wide and provided some amount of cover. There was also one log.

"Surrender!" an unseen figure yelled from ahead in the trees. "You are surrounded!"

Archard lowered his night vision goggles from his helmet.

"Archard," Sey'les growled, "our night vision goggles don't work. They are covered in something that blocks them."

Whispering excitedly, Archard exclaimed "Sey'les, I can see his megaphone. It is lit up on the infrared!"

"Blast him then!" Sey'les ordered in a growly whisper. "Blast their leader!"

"You have 60 seconds! If you do not surrender by that time we will—AHHHHHHH!" the voice screamed as two shots lit him up. Sparking brightly, the flames of his megaphone revealed a Gotal, shot in the chest, standing wearing a ghillie suit. Before the sparking ended, his megaphone made a disgusting screeching microphone noise that made Sey'les's fur stand on end.

Gotals were yelling and baaing in every direction.

"TAKE COVER!" Sey'les yelled right before blaster shots flew over their heads from every direction.

None of the Judicials were hit by the first volley but some of the Gotals screamed, accidentally shooting their comrades in friendly fire. They were all yelling at each other amidst the crossfire.

The Gotals had surrounded the Judicials too well.

Hashtivar started cackling madly from his stretcher. "Kriffing morons! HA!"

"Hashtivar, shut—" Sey'les started, but then stopped.

A blue lightsaber and a green lightsaber ignited in the forest. Sey'les gasped. _Suldor? Tursk?_ she wondered.

"Agents take cover!" an unfamiliar female voice ordered.

_Nope, some other kriffing Jedi._

All of the fire shifted in the direction of the two lightsabers. Sey'les could hear the Gotals dropping dead. A few stray deflected shots hit the trees over her head.

"TAKE COVER!" Sey'les ordered once more.

In spite of Sey'les's orders, Cas got on her knees and lifted her head over one of the large roots to try to see the fight between the Gotals and Jedi.

Sey'les lost it. Still surging with adrenaline, she snarled and pulled Cas back from the roots pulling her onto her back. "Take cover! All humans take cover! We are not going to lose anyone else! KRIFFING HUMANS! TAKE COVER!"

Cas said nothing and laid on her back.

Shots began hitting the logs and flying over their heads from every direction.

"WULF! HUMANS! ROLL ONTO YOUR BACKS!" Sey'les snarled. "If any Gotals approach and stand over us, we shoot!"

"Copy that," Archard said calmly rolling onto his back aiming his blaster at the sky.

Sey'les rolled onto her back looking up at the falling snow, prepared to shoot any face that emerged over the logs, roots, or from behind the trees. Sey'les lay down on her back, between Cas and Fenron.

"Sey'les—" Hashtivar stammered.

"—No Hashtivar. You don't have to roll on your back," she growled.

More screaming could be heard in the distance. An eerie blue and green glow cut through the darkness. The sabers were not close enough to be seen directly, but everyone could see the glow of their light.

"I know you are curious," Sey'les growled in a sore raspy voice, trying to sound consoling, but her normal voice was completely lost. "We have lost too many people today. It is not worth indulging your human curiosity to get a peak. I am not going to lose anyone else. We are going to survive. The Jedi are right here and mopping up the rest of those Gotal scum."

"Sorry Sey'les," Cas finally sighed. "It was stupid."

Blasterfire was still going on. The sound of lightsabers slicing through flesh occasionally interrupted the firefight.

"It's all right. You lost two people. I lost three people. You're not thinking straight, I'm not thinking straight. We need to sit tight and not just throw our brains out the airlock," Sey'les urged in another growl.

Hashtivar laughed a little at her voice.

Sey'les felt angry at him for it but couldn't react. He was badly hurt as it is.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, all fighting sounds stopped.

An unfamiliar male voice yelled "We are clear!"

"Agents, we are approaching your position to assist," the same unfamiliar female voice said. "Hold your fire."

"Hold your fire," Sey'les growled as crunching snow noises grew nearer.

A female humanoid emerged standing on the roots looking down on them. She had brown human-looking skin but purple pupils that glowed in the darkness. Instead of hair, she had fleshy white tendrils. Sey'les sniffed hard trying to identify her species, but only smelled Bacta.

A pale middle-aged human male with black hair and a scar across his face appeared. He stood over them, examining the curious scene of Judicials laying on their backs holding blasters at the low ready.

"Well Agents, don't you all look cute!" the male Jedi said.

"Speak for yourself!" Wulf yelled up sarcastically.

_Kriff I don't have time for this,_ Sey'les thought, feeling exhausted. _We just nearly died. We lost five Agents. I am burned, one of us is crippled, and you are all making jokes._

"I am Master Stass Allie," the humanoid female with white tendrils said.

"I am Master Tholme," the human male said, "who is in charge?"

"I am Agent Sey'les, leader of Team Muun, acting leader of Team Aurek, probably acting leader of some taskforce," Sey'les growled cynically. "Apologies for my voice Masters Jedi," she said as she stood up, brushing the moss off her trench-coat and holstering her blaster. "I have been burned, vomited, and lost my voice somewhere along on the process. Team Aurek's leader, Agent Savit is," Sey'les snapped her jaw shut gulping back a sob, tears streaming down her eyes again. The humans had saved the rest of her team but made huge sacrifices too.

"Dead, along with Tonkins," Fenron said sadly gesturing towards the bodies of Savit and Tonkins.

"As are Agents F'laro, Weequi, and Nor," Wulf said in an exhausted sigh. "What's left of them are back at the structure."

"What's left of me is—" Hashtivar started.

"—Stop it Agent," Sey'les growled. "I know you are hurt and feel betrayed by incompetence. So am I, and so do I, but we have been—"

"—I know rescued," Hashtivar sighed in an exhausted laugh waving his arm around.

"I am sorry for all of your losses, all of our losses today," Master Allie said solemnly.

"Thank you, Master Jedi," Cas replied.

"Very well, Agents, retrieve Tonkins and Savit now. We will get the others at another time," Tholme said.

"Did Captian Ozzel send you?" Cas asked curiously.

"Sort of," Allie said with a groan as she helped Fenron lift up a stretcher carrying Savit's body. "We were on a diplomatic mission in Nashal, Taulus. The High Council became aware of the deteriorating situation here when we received footage of Master Tursk being murdered. Captain Ozzel asked for help."

"The Jedi Council ordered us here," Tholme added. "But we were not told initially that we would be rescuing you. Captain Ozzel is currently engaging ships in orbit and we narrowly avoided the firefight. After we arrived in the system, Captain Ozzel asked if we could recover you."

"Recover us?!" Wulf exclaimed.

"Yes. Your telemetry has shown you all as dead for over an hour for some reason. We received reports of over one hundred insurgents in pursuit of you at the time of last contact," Master Tholme said. "It wasn't until shortly before we heard blasterfire that I sensed any of you were alive."

"I suppose I do feel more 'recovered' than 'rescued,'" Hashtivar said wearily.

Archard and Rigel picked up Tonkin's body after unravelling yet another stretcher.

_How many portable stretchers do medics pack?_ Sey'les wondered to herself. _I should know that._

Sey'les and Cas picked up Hashtivar. Sey'les's hands ached more than ever.

As they walked towards the road, the sky began getting brighter. The sky was far too cloudy to see the sun itself, but it happened much faster than a sunrise.

_Well, at least it won't be freezing anymore_ , Sey'les thought to herself, then _Kriff._ The snow now fell out of the sky as slushy rain.

Despite having been rescued, or perhaps 'recovered,' despite the sky now being bright, the last ten minutes of walking was the most miserable yet. The burn cream ran off Sey'les's snout in a runny liquid, dripping onto her lips with the rain. She could taste the bitter taste of the medicine in her mouth. Her saliva built up, drooling to push it out.

In the light, she could now see that puss and blood was leaking through the bandages on her hands.

The trees ended suddenly, and the group stepped onto a gravel road. Four unarmoured human Judicials, probably in the Diplomatic Security Corps, were standing around a massive 100 meter-long Consular-Class Republic Space Cruiser.

"Rail gun rounds won't get through those shields," Master Tholme said confidently as they approached the ship.

Three of the Judicials gasped as Sey'les as she drew nearer. One of them rushed forwards and offered to help with the stretcher.

"Thank you," Sey'les said and passed handed her end to him.

Another one replaced Cas, and the final two ran forth to help Master Allie.

"Sir, this was a recovery I thought! We don't have a sickbay on board!" one of the humans gasped alarmed as he saw how injured Sey'les, Wulf, and Hashtivar looked.

"It's all right, we are taking them to the _Judicator_. This is a good thing, there were survivors," Tholme replied as if it needed to be said. He walked up the ramp ahead of everyone else. "These seven Agents," he gestured at the seven survivors, "travelled more than eight clicks, and held off over forty camouflaged Gotals in a firefight before we arrived." He gestured to Sey'les, Hashtivar, and Wulf, "those three Aliens did so in their current injured condition. They did not get those burns from blasters, Girond. They could probably survive all the way back to Coruscant if they were ordered to."

Normally, Sey'les's large ego would have been stoked from being complemented by a Jedi. Even a reminder of what happened, however, made her feel like she was going to choke to death. She took a deep Bacta-smelling breath through her nose as she walked up the ramp.

* * *

Sey'les spent most of the first few minutes of the flight looking out at the clouds. The air inside the cruiser was now warming Sey'les up, but she now felt growing pains on all of her extremities. She was panting a lot, trying to cool off as her body temperature increased. All she wanted was silence. Most of the Judicials were silent too, just contemplating what had happened to them in silence.

Somehow, Fenron and Cas felt differently. They were having an animated conversation about the time Sey'les bit a Gotal's neck. Cas seemed to be concerned that Sey'les might contract some Gotal disease.

_I very much doubt that_ , Sey'les thought. Something did feel very wrong though. Suddenly, Sey'les could hear Captain Ozzel's staticky voice from the cockpit. "This is a general emergency message from the _Judicator_ to all Antarian and Republic craft. A ship has collided with Skyhook 1. I say again, a ship has hit Skyhook 1. All ships in the Temba area, beware of falling debris!"

Cas and Fenron started yelling in a panic.

"BLAST!" one of the Judicials assigned to Masters Allie and Tholme exclaimed.

"KRIFF!" Archard yelled.

Everyone seated on Sey'les's side of the cruiser stood up and ran to a window on the other side.

Sey'les staggered, instead, to the cockpit and gasped the second she could see through the window.

A huge black shadow swayed in the clouds, lowering rapidly to the cityscape. Bits of fiery debris were raining through the clouds on either side of it. As one end of the black shadow reached the city scape, a fiery explosion glowed from behind the buildings. It continued descending, eventually encompassing the cityscape in a cloud of dust.

Sey'les growled "kriff." Her heart sank as she thought of all of the Antarian police and their families who must be on it. _Too kriffing much._

Stass Allie and Tholme both hunched over at the same time, clutching their chests as if physically injured by the disaster unfolding outside. Tholme let out a gasp of shock.

"Get us to the Judicator, now!" Allie ordered.

As the ship's cockpit pointed straight up to the sky, Sey'les felt collapsed, completely losing consciousness.


	22. Jazal

Alpheridies

Something had snapped the moment Jazal heard a lightsaber's slicing from her comm as Pax yelled for help. The moment she sensed the suffering of all of those beings at the cantina as they drew nearer, she knew Averross had to go. Many of them were children, Miraluka children, her people. Averross had come to her planet and not only hurt the Judicials under his command but hurt her own people. It felt entirely personal.

Whether _Averross has to go_ meant shipping him back to Coruscant for the High Council to deal with, shipping him off to the Citadel, or leaving him to rot on Alpheridies she did not know.

It was one thing for a Jedi to drink. Many Jedi consumed alcohol in small amounts at ceremonies and functions. It was another thing to get somewhat tipsy, as a smaller, but still somewhat large number of Jedi did. It was yet another thing for a Jedi to consume alcohol to the point they became completely inebriated—it was extremely risky and only a few Jedi ever allowed themselves to do this. Entirely inconceivable to Jazal was the notion of a Jedi becoming completely inebriated in a crowded place.

When non-force users get drunk, the worst that happens is they hurt themselves or someone else. On the other hand, when force users get drunk, the worst thing that happens is they hurt a lot of beings. Even without a lightsaber, force-throws and various types of force-squeezes can be deadly. Her own people, the Miraluka, drank mainly extremely weak alcohol. The only strong alcohols were imported and were mostly consumed by aliens. At most, Miraluka would get slightly inebriated with alcohol so weak in did not even dehydrate the drinker.

The even more personal part of it was that Averross pulled this stunt the moment she finally had some privacy and could finally relax.

To make matters worse still, Jazal felt like she could have said something to Averross. _'Hey Master Nerf Herder, maybe getting drunk with the red necks isn't a good idea.' 'Hey Master Nerf Herder, be sure to drink in moderation. I wouldn't want you sending 1,000-degree molten metal upon terrified cantina patrons with your lightsaber.' 'Master, why don't you give your lightsaber to me before you go into that cantina?'_

_BLAST AVERROSS_. Today, she had sworn aloud for the first time in years.

"Jazal?" Oc'nel asked nervously, walking alongside her.

"This had better be operations-related, Agent," Jazal said sharply.

"It is. We do have good news, but I forgot to tell everyone before this happened," he said nervously as if afraid of being struck by lightning.

"Good news?" Jazal asked with mild curiosity.

To Jazal's tempered amusement, Oc'nel began listing problems like an office secretary who had a bad day "Averross forgot to tell the Jedi Temple of our predicament, neglected to schedule the briefing with them, forgot to even tell them we are here, and did nothing but go to the Cantina and make an ass of himself—but Jazal, we contacted the Temple and got everyone a place to stay for free."

Jazal stopped herself from chuckling. "You're right Oc'nel. Master Grier, Master Ov-Bion, would it be possible for you to go to the Temple and help out my taskforce and any _Agarath_ crew that require it? Even simply showing them around would help."

"Yes, we would be happy to Jazal," Grier replied serenely.

"Anything to help," Ov-Bion added.

"Thank you very much, we will continue to the hospital, Oc'nel, brief the taskforce."

"This is acting Cresh team leader Itoll Oc'nel," he started. "If you would like a place to stay in Fospol, we have arranged rooms for everyone from the _Agarath_ at the Jedi Temple located in Temple Square. The rooms are spartan, so it is understandable if you'd like to pay to stay someplace else, but Jazal and I will be there this evening if you need anyone to talk to. If you have any questions about the accommodations or Temple rules, I am sure Masters Grier or Ov-Bion would be more than happy to explain."

"Good job Itoll, but you forgot something," Jazal muttered.

"Oh!" Oc'nel exclaimed awkwardly "Any questions?"

"Hey Oc'nel, this is Jassk. Do you know how Pax and the others are doing?"

"We are on our way to the hospital to find out," Oc'nel answered. "Jazal will…" Oc'nel muted his comm "Jazal will you be giving a briefing later?"

"Yes," Jazal replied. "Stop pausing so much Itoll."

"Yeah, Jazal will be giving a briefing later at the Temple," Oc'nel said. "Any other questions?"

Reyl, the engineer who had lost two limbs, asked the next question "Oc'nel, I really am getting kriffing tired of being stuck up in space. I am currently in the hospital wing at the top of the space elevator with only medical droids for company. Averross didn't even invite me to the briefing. It would be nice to be on a planet with fresh air, even one with no light. Would it be possible for anyone to come back up the well with a wheelchair and get me?"

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Oc'nel replied in alarm. "Kier, Higil, do you think you would be up to help Reyl?"

"We'd be happy to Agent!" the Mon Calamari replied.

"Thank you," Reyl replied with relief.

"I am so sorry we forgot about you again, Reyl, I really am." Oc'nel replied sadly.

"That's alright Oc'nel."

_Yet another loose end Averross forgot about when he went straight to the bar. A crewmember who lost two limbs in the line of duty,_ Jazal thought cynically. _It wasn't Itoll's or Pax's job to think of Reyl. She isn't even on their extraction team._

Jazal started trying to focus on Pax, Carver, and Fojo. She wasn't emotionally close enough to reach out to them at this distance without meditating. As she walked, she started reaching out to the buildings and street surfaces around her. The more visible-light tolerant plant-analogs grew much like moss in this part of the planet. They increased the definition of the surfaces for her as she reached out and—.

"—Jazal?" Oc'nel asked. "Is Averross being permanently declared unfit for duty, or is this temporary? Higil was wondering."

Jazal picked up her comm and joined the general channel. "I will get back to you on that. I would rather not speculate. Let's maintain our bearings and not discuss others in a negative light on a public channel Higil."

"Very well Master," the Mon Calamari said in a cautious tone.

"Okay everyone, we are approaching the hospital," Jazal lied. "Oc'nel and I are going to be too busy to answer more questions, but we will brief you later Jazal out."

"Oc'nel out."

She sensed Oc'nel was troubled. "Agent, what is it?"

"Well Master, I feel like the many of us are worried and it would have been better to keep chatting for a little while."

They were now walking along a wider street. The mossy plant-analogs had been recently cleaned from it and it felt barren, but less slippery and easier to tread on.

"True, but I sensed that many questions were going to be asked about Averross and Awerl. I am not ready to answer those and to be honest…" Jazal paused and sighed, "I don't know what the answers will be."

"What do you mean?!" Oc'nel asked alarmed, "You don't think the Jedi will leave Averross in command do you and side against you?"

"Not exactly. There are really two possibilities I foresee—"

"—a force vision?" Oc'nel interjected.

"No, Itoll, logical deduction. I am being metaphorical, sorry. There are two likely possibilities. One, the Jedi Council will recall Averross. Two, the Jedi Council will respect the Miraluka decision to deport him but will leave him up on the station effectively in command. Obviously, anyone would agree with you and I taking over temporarily because Averross is inebriated and in jail." _It is going to be so tense if the Jedi council goes with number two,_ Jazal thought. _I don't know how Averross would react._

"What about Awerl?" Oc'nel asked.

"He is almost certainly going to be recalled. It sounds like he started the whole thing… Averross may be able to worm his way out of culpability, but I don't think Awerl can."

"All right…" Oc'nel said.

Jazal could sense the words ' _well_ , _that's not fair'_ coming in Oc'nel's baritone voice with a touch of his cute Bothan growl, even though he did not say it.

"Itoll, yes it's not fair I agree. We don't have all of the facts yet ourselves though…" _although, I am sure there is absolutely nothing in the universe that would excuse Averross or Awerl._ "We need to play this strategically… within the system."

"Jazal?" Oc'nel asked.

"Yeah?"

With a hint of annoyance Oc'nel said, "Jazal, while I am a bit flattered that you like 'reaching out to me' so much. Could you stop being such a hovering busy body?"

"I am sorry, and I am sorry I embarrassed you earlier in front of Master Grier," Jazal said. "I've just well... actually I have been this close to someone before, but I have never been this close to someone before in close proximity to other Jedi."

"I understand," Oc'nel said.

_Focus…_ she tried reaching out to Pax and the others again. This time she felt Fojo in intense pain and felt Carver's anger. He was very angry about something but she—

"—Jazal?" Oc'nel asked again.

"I was in the middle of something Itoll."

"Sorry, I was just going to say… You know? Can you sense my fur?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I can often tell what emotions Bothans are feeling by looking at how their fur is. It doesn't change that much on the face, but on the neck and back, when our backs are visible that is, how it ripples and stands. You might be able to figure out how Bothans are feeling just by… sensing? Sensing our fur."

"Interesting…" Jazal said. "We can try that later."

"Oh, I wasn't volunteering to be an experiment—"

"—you weren't?!" Jazal demanded.

"Okay maybe I was," Oc'nel said with a nervous laugh.

"You are such a goof Itoll."

They drew nearer to a three-storey structure with huge metal letterings any Miraluka, even a Miraluka with relatively poor force-sensitivity, could sense: **"Master Yasek Hospital."**

"Who is Master Yasek?" Oc'nel asked.

"Ah, she was a Miraluka Jedi healer who served in the Old Republic era."

Jazal and Oc'nel walked up to an automatically open sliding door.

"Jazal I presume? Master Ov-Bion said you would be coming," the front entry attendant asked.

"Yes, I am Jazal, this is Agent Oc'nel, we are here to see the wounded Judicials," she said as she approached the desk.

Jazal faced the Miraluka directly as she talked, a habit she had learned living off world. Miraluka generally faced in the direction of the person they were talking to, but eye-contact was not a part of their culture.

"Very well, Master Jazal, Agent Oc'nel, take a seat. One of the nurses will escort you in soon."

Jazal could sense an unnerving amount of suffering here. Most of it though was not related to the cantina brawl.

* * *

To Jazal's amazement, when they arrived in the burn ward, Carver was far angrier than in pain. Fojo had fallen asleep.

"Then, that kriffing idiot cut the safe in half mid-air," Carver said while swinging an imaginary lightsaber, seated on his bed. "Look at my tattoos Jazal!" Carver demanded to the eyeless Miraluka.

Jazal could sense Oc'nel nearly laughed in spite of feeling sympathy. Jazal debated elbowing him, hissing in his ear, perhaps pinching his snout… _No, it's not fair of me to manage his social life. He didn't agree to that when he started this… thing with me._ Even in her thoughts, Jazal did not want to describe it as a 'relationship.'

Jazal could not really sense Carver's tattoos, but she could sense a painful burn all along his arm and shoulder. "I am sorry Carver, but I don't know what your tattoos really look like. My senses are not sensitive enough for that and I cannot 'look' at them," Jazal admitted. "Tattoos don't really have any definition."

"Well, you tell her Oc'nel!" Carver demanded angrily.

"Um okay," Oc'nel took a huge breath to avoid laughing. "Jazal, you see, Carver has flame tattoos all up and down both arms. Flame tattoos, got it? A hot object burned through his flame tattoos and… and now—"

"All right! All right! I see the irony Oc'nel. Damn… That is kriffing funny actually," Carver started guffawing. "BLAST though… This scar is gonna ruin them!"

Oc'nel burst into laughter along with Carver. After laughing himself to exhaustion, Carver laid back in his bed exasperated.

_Phew,_ Jazal thought. She was worried Carver would be mad at Oc'nel. Now all she sensed from Carver was regret, humour, and exasperation.

"Master Jedi," an unfamiliar voice barely able to contain his rage started. "Master Jedi, I understand that you Core types might find this amusing. My son says that it was a human member of your Order who did this to his face."

Jazal spun around and faced a Miraluka male. She could sense his rage, protectiveness, and anguish. Behind him sat a child with his face in a bandage. Jazal could sense the burns to the right of his nose.

Across the aisle from Fojo and Carver were ten beds, each with a Miraluka teen. Several parents were in the room too.

"I am sorry about what happened. I will do everything in my power to make sure whoever was responsible never gets to hold a lightsaber again," Jazal said.

"Who was responsible?" a female Miraluka voice demanded from the other side of the room, no doubt another parent.

"We are not at liberty to discuss that yet, I am sorry." Jazal tried sounding as apologetic as possible.

"Another Jedi coverup… unbelievable," the male said angrily. "If one of us had done this, we would be sent to jail for years."

"My daughter says the Jedi introduced himself to the whole cantina," another woman said. "Rael Averross."

_BLAST!_ Jazal tensed up. _This could explode into a media frenzy…_ "I can neither confirm, nor deny, that it was Master Rael Averross," Jazal said simply.

"Master?! You're telling me this wasn't some Padawan but a Jedi Master?" one of the father's yelled in a question.

Jazal took a deep breath. "Agent Oc'nel and I really need to check on someone who is in more serious condition now, it was nice chatting with you all and I hope your children make a full recovery."

Slowly walking through the tense crowd, Jazal and Oc'nel reached the door.

* * *

In the trauma ward, the medical droid said Pax had been downgraded to critical, but stable, condition. He had received a concussion and a skull fracture and was now suspended in Bacta.

"So, he is going to make it?" Oc'nel asked the droid.

"I said he has a 91.73% chance of survival without permanent neurological damage. There is a 6.17% he will have permanent neurological damage, and a 2.1% chance of fatality, in other words."

Oc'nel sighed.

"He is probably going to survive even with those odds," Jazal said consolingly putting her arm around his shoulders. "They program the droids to be overly pessimistic for insurance purposes. If the droids give a mistakenly optimistic diagnosis that then turns out to be wrong, the company may get a lawsuit."

"No Master Jedi, you are incorrect. By my estimation—"

"—droid, please stop being obnoxious," Jazal demanded. _Why do they program doctor droids to say things like that?_ "When will you bring the patient, Zuro Pax, back to consciousness?"

"I expect tomorrow afternoon," the droid replied.

"He probably won't be ready for the briefing by then…" Oc'nel started and trailed off.

"I don't think we are having the briefing tomorrow. The Jedi Council has not cancelled it, but it seems unlikely and—speaking of the council, I expect this is Master Kenobi," Jazal felt her comm buzz on her belt.

"Master Kenobi?"

"Jazal. Congratulations, now, a Jedi Master, you are," Yoda's voice came through the comm.

_What! I am not even on Coruscant. I have never even had a Padawan!_

It was not unheard of for some Jedi to be elevated to Master before their Padawan had attained Knighthood. However, it was highly unusual for a Jedi who never even had a Padawan.

"Grand Master Yoda?! Respectfully, this is highly unusual, can you even do that? I am not on Coruscant. Generally, a Jedi Knight is only promoted to Master when—"

"Accept the title Jazal," Plo Koon's voice echoed through a ventilator and sounded very impatient. "We could have called you via hologram, but we all know you wouldn't be able to see us either way. You are within your rights to refuse a position as Jedi Master, but taking it will make this easier for us all."

"Congrats Master!" Oc'nel sighed in relief.

_Why is he relieved?! This is even more unexpected news than Averross starting an interplanetary incident._

"Master Yoda, Plo Koon, whole council—I presume and Obi-Wan? This can't just be from Averross can it?"

"No Jazal, you are right," Mace Windu's voice interjected. "We lost two Jedi Masters today on Antar 4. Master Tursk was killed in action, Master Suldor was… well let's say he made a far bigger mess than Averross did, suffered a heart attack, got many innocents killed in blowback from his actions, and is now recovering. We will need to put him in rehabilitation, probably permanently."

Jazal gasped.

The grave voice of Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke next. "My advice Jazal, is to accept this rank. We do not have time for you to wait around. If you take the promotion now, hopefully, we will all be able to pause, reflect, and spend the next week organising."

"Organising?" Jazal asked.

"The Galactic Senate passed the Naval Creation Act a week ago. There is currently a massive reorganisation of the Judicial Forces. The vote for the larger Military Creation Act will be at the beginning of next month. There will be nothing for you to do in the meantime, but we need you to accept the promotion so we can organise ourselves administratively."

"Fine, I accept. What about Master Averross?" Jazal asked quickly.

"Extraction Team Delta and Master Sekura are picking Awerl and Averross from Alpheridies Station. I assure you that they will be disciplined," Mace Windu said.

"All right," Jazal sighed in relief. "There's one more update. One of the injured Miraluka teenagers told his parents that it was Rael Averross who did this."

"Had you told me that an hour ago, it would be our top concern. However, things on Antar 4 have deteriorated," Kenobi started. "Agent Oc'nel, Master Jazal, I suggest turning on the news or tuning into the Judicial HoloNet. I am certain that this story of Averross's bar fight will remain local."

"As for the intelligence briefing with the Council and Director of EED," Mace Windu spoke up, "we will postpone it one more day. Hopefully more of your taskforce will be fit to attend by then."

"In the meantime, turn on the news Master Jazal," Kenobi suggested. "We will speak to you again in two days."

"Thank you for your trust in me," Jazal said.

"Thank you for accepting. Proud, Master Poof would have been," Yoda replied before the line ended.

_Proud? Promoted to Jedi Master because the Order lost three Jedi Masters today?! So strange, and positively senile, Yoda is,_ Jazal thought after he hung up.

"Droid, is there any terminal we can watch the news on?" Jazal asked the medical droid, feeling more worried about what Master Kenobi had said.

"Ah yes, I am sure Oc'nel can show you the one in the trauma ward's waiting room," the droid replied, pointing out the door.

Jazal and Oc'nel walked in the direction the droid had pointed. Jazal felt dread. _An incident worse than what Averross had done…_

Oc'nel said, "never mind that Jazal, I can use my datapad." He turned on his datapad and fumbled with the screen. Jazal could feel his dismay and shock as he read.

"What is it Itoll?"

"The Gotal Assembly… they took out Skyhook 1. At least 40,000 are presumed dead. Pictures… most of Port Semba facing the harbour has been flattened by falling debris from space."

"Blast… what is the Republic doing about it?"

"Reading another article—" Oc'nel said interrupting himself. "The Republic is deploying 400 more Judicials to the planet and a taskforce of 20 Jedi. The local government has deployed more of the Antarian Army into the city to help rescue any survivors and regain order. You know? If you really wanted to get up to date, we'd be able to get updates from the Judicial or Jedi HoloNet itself at the Temple and even classified reports."

"You're right," Jazal said feeling foolish. "I don't exactly want to leave Pax and everyone here though," she admitted. "I suppose they aren't going anywhere though."

On their way down the wide street they had walked down to get to the hospital, Jazal sensed a giant Shadowsync Billboard with so much depth to the viscous display that Jazal did not need to physically feel it to sense the screen.

The face on the screen was a familiar Tholothian with tendrils flowing down the sides of her head: Master Stass Allie. She sounded unprepared to make the briefing.

"Unfortunately, we lost many Judicials, pilots and SBI personnel in action in operations responding to Master Tursk's death yesterday," Master Allie started in a controlled voice. "We were not going to give names yet as it is normal practice to inform the families of our personnel lost in combat first, but seeing as the names were leaked already, I can confirm. Agents Thaddeus Savit, Carmine Tonkins, Weequi, Omgen Nor, and Zeva F'laro were killed in action today, along four pilots: Val Sagh, Ur Pokleen, Sabine Zevdon, and Yaro Swan. We also lost five Senate Intelligence Bureau personnel, Ulbrek Zem, Dac Janos, Shiptar Frone, Cala Biggs, and Naftar Yarille. My condolences go to their families. The Antarian government has retaken control of Temba Port and rescue operations are underway for victims of the Skyhook 1 attack."

* * *

As they walked back to the Temple through the dark streets Jazal and Oc'nel discussed how well he knew any of the victims. Oc'nel explained that he knew some of team Muun and knew their team leader before becoming a Judicial. The permanent pitch-black sky reflected the Bothan's increasingly downcast mood.

The topic of conversation gradually shifted from the deaths on Antar 4 to what the Republic will do next.

"Do you think…" Oc'nel paused. "Do you think the Jedi will recruit your people?"

"Huh?" Jazal asked, no idea what the Bothan was going on about.

"You know that plaque in the temple. They used to recruit your people to help them fight wars. Do you think they'll do that again?"

Jazal sighed. "No, I don't think so. Well… only if the war goes on for decades. Itoll? How long did it take the Republic to train you?"

"Um… two years at the Academy I suppose, four years for most," Oc'nel answered, not expecting that question. Despite carrying a blaster as part of his job, Jazal sensed that Oc'nel never thought of himself as a warrior.

"It takes more than fifteen years to train most Jedi, sometimes closer to nineteen or twenty," Jazal explained as they continued walking. "The Jedi were only able to do that here on Alpheridies the last time because the conflict with the Sith Empire went on for decades. The Jedi can't just create troops out of thin air like magic. If the Republic went to war with systems that simply wanted to break away, I am not sure the Jedi would even involve ourselves."


	23. Zuro Pax

Alpheridies

"Here is your datapad, sir," Higil said enthusiastically in his Mon Calamari voice.

"Thank you Higil," Pax groaned his voiced slurred from his heavy doses of pain killers. His head still felt like it was on fire.

Higil walked out of Pax's hospital room.

Pax had now been awake for several hours. He felt his mind wandering much less than usual, but his voice was slurry.

Jazal and Oc'nel were having Higil run errands up and down the space elevator to Alpheridies station. His deputy, Kier, was now helping Reyl get around Fospol.

Pax wanted to retake control of his command, but Oc'nel was doing an acceptable job thus far and Pax knew, on an intellectual level, that he was going to be in the hospital for at least a week. _Perhaps when I feel better, I can still do administrative work from this end_ , Pax thought.

The interior of the hospital was the only non-Miraluka-looking interior Pax had seen since the Cantina. On the inside, it could be mistaken for a hospital anywhere in the Core, except that it lacked windows. The Miraluka nurses had been kind enough to set up one of the few HoloNet terminals for beings with eyesight in his room.

Pax was incensed. On Antar 4, fifteen Judicials and SBI personnel had been killed in combat fighting Gotal Assembly insurgents. His team, on the other hand, was brought out of action by a bar fight. _They had failed at taking shore-leave._ He had nearly been killed—in a bar fight.

His sister Cerei had called shortly after he woke up. Before asking Pax if he was okay, before asking Pax anything else, she had asked what he could do for _kriffing Awerl_. _That blasted Wookiee_. Since then, Pax had terminated several of Cerei's attempted calls without answering. _I am never going to speak with her again_ , he told himself. He knew he probably would eventually, but definitely not to save Awerl. _That blasted Wookiee and Averross can rot_.

Pax turned on his datapad and hit the encrypt button. It was obvious from the news on his hospital HoloTerminal that the Galaxy was quickly destabilising. Pax needed to find out just how much.

The datapad Pax was using did not have access to the Senate Bureau of Intelligence or Judicial Intelligence network, only summaries of classified briefings and reports. He also had access to unclassified paid reports from Alya Analytics, a state-owned Bothan company that the Alya Clan used to sell information to offworlders—information authorised for release by the Spynet.

Most mainstream media outlets also had paid subscriptions to this service so important reports that appeared on it were more or less tomorrow's news. The more boring reports were food for investors.

One report in particular caught Pax's attention: INCREASED VIOLENCE IN THE KASHYYYK SYSTEM. TRADE FEDERATION REACTION EXPECTED. _Kriffing Wookiees_ was Pax's first thought. _Kriffing Wookiees_. He shook his head furiously.

Clicking on the report prompted a Bothan face to appear. The brown furred Bothan wore a black human suit with a dark purple tie. He had dyed his mane the same black-purple colour as his tie, giving him a very posh and effeminate look. He spoke Basic fluently with a Core-sounding accent, opening his mouth very wide to produce all of the vowels in a human-sounding voice, flashing his sharp teeth with every wide-mouthed syllable. _I wonder where he learned to talk like that from._

"This is Kaleb Arany'lya of Alya Analytics. This feed is only intended for subscribers to Alya Analytics and our partners. Any distribution without a Media Fee or express authorisation by Clan Alya is in violation of Bothan, Hutta, and Republic intellectual property statutes. Violators will be subject to account termination, lawsuit, and potential criminal charges. Remember: _Bounty Hunting is against the Bothan Way. A Bounty, on Bounty Hunters who abuse our service, is the only one that we will pay._ Any use of this service by beings employed in Bounty Hunting is strictly prohibited. Bounty Hunters who gain access to this service will be subject to extreme termination by the Bounty Hunter Guild. By clicking 'Agree' you agree to our user agreement."

Despite having seen the disclaimer many times, Pax laughed hard at the "Bothan Way… Pay" rhyme—far more humorous when on painkillers. He then clicked agree and the report appeared.

**"Footage released by the Trandoshan police indicates that a Wookiee strike-force was responsible for the deaths of Trade Federation executives Sib Char and Ragrap Nox, as well the Sorenno's chief Ambassador Jerec Dooku. Video attached."**

Pax clicked on the video and gasped. A room full of muddy Wookiees entered a hotel room, then one of them attacked a Trandoshan in a suit pulling him away from the Trade Federation executives and the human. The Wookiees then blasted the human and the Nemoidians across the room.

Pax read on **"No Trandoshans were killed in the attack. Three suffered injuries. There is a moderate probability the Wookiees intercepted outside intelligence for the attack. _"_**

Pax paused. _Outside intelligence?_ He looked at a satellite image of the perpetrating vessel. A Corellian Corvette covered in dishes. _That thing definitely could have intercepted outside intelligence_.

**"The Galactic Senate is voting on a bill in two days to censure the government of Kashyyyk. We estimate it has a low to moderate probability of passing. There is a high probability that the Trade Federation will deploy a fleet into the Kashyyyk system in response. Analysis of Trandoshan actions indicates a high probability that the Trandoshans and Trade Federation will cooperate to end Wookiee Sanctions and force the Wookiee blockade to withdraw. There is a moderate probability that Trandosha will enter a new amity with the Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, and potentially other Separatist factions."**

Pax wondered wryly if the Wookiees subscribed to this. Even if they didn't, he supposed the two Wookiee senators would have access to it. _Who in the hell would have authorised such a stupid mission? Kill a bunch of diplomats?_

More thoughts, objections, and concerns flooded through Pax's mind: _This escalation has to stop_. _There is no reason the Republic has to go to war with world's that are seceding. There is no reason the Republic has to side with loyalist worlds even when they act illegally._

Suddenly, Pax's screen froze. He was receiving a call from a 000 sector-code: Coruscant. He hit accept and a Wookiee's face popped up. To Pax's alarm, it was Senator Yarua.

Pax screamed in terror. He thought for a moment that he was hallucinating and having a drug induced nightmare.

Senator Yarua had brought the Duros into his social circle, along with a select few other Judicials, years ago. Pax had occasionally leaked information to Yarua in exchange for gifts. This though was extremely unexpected.

[Pax, is this line secure?] Yarua asked in Shyriiwook.

"Uh, what?! Senator, sir, with all due respect—"

The Wookiee roared angrily. [YOU MUST SPEAK SHYRIIWOOK! I don't know who is listening.]

_"Uma masha."_ [Yes sir,] Pax slurred, rubbing his eyes. He curled his legs up and propped his datapad on the sheets between his legs, then propped his bandaged head up on a stack of pillows behind him.

The Wookiee pondered Pax for a moment. [Are you alright Pax? You are talking in a slurry way.]

[Yeah. My head hurts. The droid said that I don't have any permanent injuries to my brain, sir,] Pax explained in Shyriiwook.

_"Mawyen."_ [Good,] Senator Yarua said. _"Sharghug, nyuyag wen ga."_ [Sorry that happened _._ ] _"Oh ma rorrelem."_ [You have a problem.]

_"Na masha, oh ma rorrelem."_ [No sir, you have a problem,]Pax replied laughing out of control. _Damn I am high!_

The Senator scowled at Pax. [You also have a problem, Pax,] he growled sternly.

[Sir?]Pax asked.

[A fool engineer, Colonel in the signal corps, learned that the Trade Federation would be on Trandosha. He discovered this from Passel Argente's hat,] the Senator growled, hatred in his voice.

Pax gasped in shock.

Yarua looked at Pax with a bit of a smirk. [Pax, I know that you enjoy the companionship of Wookiees. Was it you?]

_"Na masha!"_ [No sir!]Pax yelled outraged. _These Wookiees have some nerve!_ Then Pax gasped in sudden realisation. [AWERL! It was Awerl! That was the reason for the violence in the cantina!]

The Senator looked suspicious. [In the future there will be more violence if Wirarlu has access to Passel Argente's hat.]

_"Uma masha,"_ Pax agreed. He slurred once again, [Sir, who is Wirarlu?]

[I told you before,] the Senator growled impatiently.

[I can tell the Jedi sir—] Pax started in Shyriiwook.

_"—Na Hmaks."_ [No Pax,] Senator Yarua roared fiercely. [Tell the Trandoshans. We must… We must deescalate the violence.]

_"Masha!"_ [Sir!]Pax yelled. _"Rey Herashon wy-gugu Wirarlu!"_ [The Trade Federation would kill Wirarlu.]

_"Moshe."_ [Maybe,] the Senator gave a deep Wookiee snort as if the thought gave him amusement. _"Shemmy hul."_ [Engineer fool.]The Senator continued with a smile. [Pax, I like you. If you would like, I will kill Awerl.]

[No sir,] Pax pleaded.

The Senator hummed deep in thought. [I need to send Awerl a message, 'Don't hurt Pax.']

[Fine. But don't kill Awerl, please,] Pax continued his slurry Shyriiwook grovelling.

The Senator made incomprehensible humming noises, deeper in thought.

Pax sat back nervously and looked at the ceiling. _Kriffing Yarua wants me to leak classified information. He wants me to destroy our only accomplishment._ Then Pax realised with growing dread: _Wirarlu has already destroyed our only accomplishment…_

After a while of silence, Yarua said insistently, without anything indicating a change in conversation. [You are going to the next party on Coruscant. I will see you there.]

[Yes sir,] Pax sighed.

[I will be on Trandosha in four days. I expect that you will tell the Trandoshan's before then,] Yarua growled.

[Yes sir,]said despondently. [Sir do you have a plan?]

_"Uma Maksh."_ [Yes Pax,]the Senator said in a thoughtful voice. _"Moshe, egh na wy-wighu oh."_ [Maybe, maybe I don't want to tell you.]

After a few moments, the Senator changed his mind suddenly with a groan unable to contain this plan bursting in his head. He yammered so fast in Shyriiwook that Pax had trouble understanding. [The Trandoshans in the valley got lots of rain causing their dam to brake. I told the blockade to drop aid, but not lots of aid. I don't want dead Trandoshans, but I do want uncomfortable Trandoshans.]

Yarua gave a devious smile that sent chills down Pax's spine and added, [in four days, I land on Trandosha with lots of aid: provisions, medicine, prefabricated structures, heaters for the lizard piles.]

Pax gulped nervously.

The Senator seemed content. Before hanging up he gave a devious smile that essentially said: _now you know how scary I am. Don't disobey me._

"KRIFFING WOOKIEES!" Pax yelled aloud in a slurred voice the second the senator hung up. He tried hurling his datapad across the room but was so weakened and dizzy that it only landed on the foot of his bed. He laid his head back defeated.

Pax was becoming more enraged as he sat in bed. _Why couldn't Yarua tell the stupid Trandoshans himself?! He is going to be on the kriffing planet in four days... Ugh that crafty bastard must be thinking of some convoluted plan that involves him, but he needs me to set the groundwork in place without alerting his own people that he is involved_.

Pax yelled aloud, "KRIFF I SHOULD HAVE STUDIED BOTHESE, NOT SHYRIIWOOK! Even on the worst day, a bitchy little snarling Bothan hissy fit is not nearly this bad! HELL, HUTTS ARE NOT THIS BAD! KRIFFING HUTTS!"

A whiny Wookiee apologetic groan made him jump in fear. Pax screamed in terror "AAAAHHHH!"

It was Ghalabow. She was standing in the open doorway, carrying his hat and a strange bouquet of pitch-black Alpheridies plant-analogs.

_"Sharghug_ , _hmaksh,_ " [I am sorry, Pax.]

"Oh, I wasn't talking about you," Pax slurred feeling guilty. " _Sharghug rin_ , _Ghalabow._ " [I am also sorry, Ghalabow.]

[That Wookiee, that Wookiee you were talking with, is a snake.]Ghalabow said with disgust.

"You heard that?!" Pax asked alarmed.

_"Nyrr na wighu magugu Rosha-n, oshra wighu naghemushlish Rosha-n."_ [He doesn't want dead Trandoshans, but uncomfortable Trandoshans,]Ghalabow parroted Yarua's words back to him.

Pax gasped.

[What if their lizard eggs die in the cold?] Ghalabow demanded in Shyriiwook. [Who is he?]

Pax gulped. He really wanted to tell her. His headache was killing him. His brain felt emptier than usual. He needed someone to complain to. He needed some stimulus. On the other hand, if it got out, he could go to jail for not reporting this conversation. More worryingly, Yarua might kill him.

[You can't tell anyone,]Pax said in Shyriiwook.

[Fine,]Ghalabow replied.

"Senator Yarua."

_"Shenaorr Yarua!"_ Ghalabow roared. " _Nyuyag shlag,"_ [that snake.]

Pax sighed. "We have to be quieter, shut the door please."

Ghalabow shut the door.

"You're right though. 100 years in the kriffing Senate. That snake has been in the Senate since before my parents were born. The rogue Wookiee attack just forced his hand."

"Maybe,"Ghalabow murmured, deep in thought. "Maybe he had something… something to do with it," she whispered suspiciously in Shyriiwook.

"The Wookiee attack?" Pax asked in a slurred voice.

_"Yarrgh."_ [Yeah,] Ghalabo said with dark suspicion.

Pax sighed. "I don't see how Ghalabow. Yarua represents all of the moons and worlds in the Kashyyyk system but Kashyyyk, while the other Wookiee Senator represents Kashyyyk. One day soon, Trandoshans will vote and at that point, will be facing a Trandoshan politician. Obviously…" Pax said in a quieter groaning voice, "Obviously, the Wookiee colony worlds will vote for him, but that Senator will need some Trandoshans to vote for him to possibly win. I don't see why he would do something that makes it more likely for him to face opposition."

Ghalabow hummed deep in thought. She took a seat in the plastic chair next to Pax's bed.

Pax winced, worrying that Ghalabow would break the chair. The chair's structural integrity held— _phew._

Ghalabow started elaborating her conspiracy theory again, presuming that Pax also believed it. [You think that Yarua has an opportunity, an opportunity to add support—]

"—no Ghalabow. I think Yarua is in panic mode and is just scheming and coming up with plots to make the best of the situation... Gahhh… I am already committing a crime. Why not? Pass me my datapad. Don't ever tell a Bothan I showed you this," Pax whispered urgently. "You know what, listen to the disclaimer first," Pax said. His drug-addled mind told him it would be okay if he showed Ghalabow the Bothan disclaimer.

Watching the blue-haired Bothan talk away, Ghalabow laughed when she heard his rhyme.

" _Kyuy."_ [Cute,] Ghalabow said.

"Oh, you think that's cute? Well, I've got a Bothan of my own who is out there kriffing—you know what, never mind I am being too much of a blabbermouth. I do have a head injury. Here, watch this." Pax played the clip of the completely insane-looking, soaking-wet, dirty, tired, muddy Wookiees wearing face masks shooting up the Trade Federation.

Ghalabow gasped in shock as the muddy Wookiees blasted the much smaller beings across the room.

"Do you think those spice-heads were professionals? If that snake Yarua had anything to do with this, there is no way it would have been that poorly executed." _Poorly executed… poor choice of words, I am not trying to make a joke_ , _damn_. Pax started laughing out of control.

Ghalabow made a quiet worried groan.

After awkward silence for a few seconds, Pax remembered… "Thanks for my hat by the way, and the… flowers?"

_"Na wen ga rorrelem."_ [It was no problem,]Ghalabow replied and started gently patting the top of Pax's blue head.

Pax looked up at her furry arm, but then his headache exploded. "Ugh, gentle Ghalabow! Your safe went into my brain yesterday." _Wookiees and their annoying affectionateness._

" _Sharghug."_ [Sorry _._ ]

"It wasn't your fault. Turns out an Agent under my command leaked information which was intercepted by a rogue Wookiee Colonel. You should have hit his face a little harder."

Ghalabow gave a sad laugh. [Sorry that I threw the safe at you,] she moaned despondently in Shyriiwook.

"I am sure you weren't aiming at me," Pax slurred. "In any case, it turns out I now have to counter his leak to help out one of your crazy… crazy Wookiee Senators. Doc! Doc!"

The medical droid came in. "Patient Zuro Pax, what is it that you require?"

"We need… I need," Pax slurred. "Do you think you can gimme some patient confidentiality?"

"Yes?" the droid asked.

"Good. I need you to send an anonymous, confidential message to my family," Pax slurred.

[Pax, I don't know if that is a good idea,]Ghalabow stammered in Shyriiwook. [Yarua is a snake.]

"I know Ghalabow, but Galaxy's depending on us and whatnot," Pax said in a slurry Duros drawl. He added, in a more lucid voice, "the Wookiee radicals that Yarua has no control over will keep killing targets identified by Passel Argente's hat, which may push the whole Galaxy to war."

Ghalabow gave a whiny worried growl.

"I know it's stupid. But even if I weren't on painkillers, I can't come up with another solution. If we tell the Jedi… best case scenario they cut the signal from Passel Argente's hat on their end, but they have no control over what the Wookiees do with it. Ultimately…" Pax slurred on, "…ultimately, the only way Passel Argente's hat gets turned off is if A) the Wookiees stop listening because their intelligence ship gets taken out, or they stop out of the goodness of their hearts or B), the Separatists find it and turn it off. Doc! Get over here!"

"I am already here Pax," the medical droid replied. "If I might suggest, it is generally considered unwise for organics to make calls while inebriated. If I understand the situation properly, then you want to make a call, _to your family,_ while high on painkillers, to try and deescalate an interstellar conflict?"

"Correct," Pax said. _Droids will believe anything! My family. Ha!_

"Well, why not wait until you have recuperated?"

"Will I be recuperated in the next four days?" Pax asked.

"No."

"Then record this message for me doc and distort my voice! Make me sound like… a Trandoshan. 'A Wookiee strike force took out three Trade Federation Diplomats using intelligence gathered from Passel Argente's hat,' and stop there." Pax blinked stupidly and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, unsure what to do next.

The doctor droid played him back his recording.

Pax sounded like a slurry Trandoshan, hissing away. Pax laughed at his own voice. _Damn that's funny! I am the funniest Trandoshan ever._

Ghalabow groaned nervously. _"Hmaks…"_ [Pax…] Ghalabow moaned in a deeply concerned voice, petting his head.

"Calm down Ghalabow. It's gonna be fine."


	24. Lir Sey'les

Aboard the _Judicator_

Back in the forest of Antar 4, Sey'les heard Captain Ozzel's voice in her ear. It was too quiet, so she turned up the volume on her headset.

"Muun Leader, this is Judicator Actual, do you copy?"

"This is Muun Leader, over," Sey'les replied.

"I have a compromise for you Sey'les," Captain Ozzel said.

Sey'les gasped in terror.

"We have a change of mission. The compromise is that you are going in cold. You and your team are going to breach the house cold. That should stop the plasma torches, don't you agree Sey'les?"

"Go in cold sir?" Sey'les asked, dread in her voice.

"Yes Sey'les, go in cold!"

Suddenly two sets of human hands grabbed Sey'les and started pushing her into a carbonite freezer.

"You are going in cold agent! That's a compromise!"

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed and snarled. She cried in terror, then couldn't move anymore. She could not even open her snout. "MMMHHHMMM" she cried.

"This should keep you nice and safe!" a mysterious human voice said, pushing her towards the Gotal building.

Sey'les quaked in fear.

"This is a compromise. Do you understand Agent? You are breaching the building cold, not hot," Captain Ozzel's voice said in her ear. "Cold, not hot."

After being set in the centre of the room, the lasers emitted from the walls. The plasma torches turned on and aimed at her. Sey'les was on fire. She could smell Nuna bacon.

"MMMHHMMMM!" she screamed, unable to move her snout.

Suddenly, a plastic respirator popped off her nose. Her nose felt very wet and warm. Her throat was clear and did not hurt at all. _What?!_

She inhaled through her nose and breathed nothing but pure liquid Bacta. Her nose felt like it was on fire. Her snout was still shut.

"MMHHMMMMMMMHHH!" she screamed in terror. Opening her eyes, she could only see a blur. Liquid was in her eyes.

"Sey'les!" a robot voice yelled into her ear. "PUT THE RESPIRATOR BACK ON!"

She reached forward, panicking, grabbed a cable, felt this tiny Bothan nose-sized respirator and plopped it on her nose, she felt a strap on it and pulled the strap tight behind her head. She breathed in air through her nose and started coughing, her snout still sealed shut.

"MHHHMMMM!" she yelled in terror and disgust as Bacta drained out of her nose, was coughed out of her lungs and got stuck in her mouth. Her snout was closed so tightly she could not spit it out.

"Sey'les," the droid started talking again. "We did not expect you to wake up yet. You developed a severe infection before we submerged you in Bacta to treat your burns. We don't have a Bothan Bacta respirator on this ship, so we taped your snout shut to stop you from drowning."

_I was dreaming,_ she suddenly realised. _What a weird bunch of dreams!_

"MHHHMMMH!" she insisted to the droid. _Kriff this tastes disgusting!_ She could not spit the mass of Bacta out.

"You are only due to be in there for 17 minutes and 53 seconds longer Sey'les. I advise you to simply swallow the Bacta if it is bothering you. It is safe in your stomach in small amounts."

_SWALLOW THE BACTA! UGH_. Sey'les pushed off the bottom of the tank and climbed the slippery walls.

"Sey'les, what are you doing? SEY'LES STOP!"

_OUCH!_ "MMMMMMHHHM!" she yelled as her head hit the top of the Bacta tube. The lid was closed. _What a stupid design! What if someone had a panic attack!_ Sey'les thought.

"As the chief medical droid, I order you to stop. You are a patient under my care, and I order you to stop Sey'les," the droid said sternly.

_Blast this is stupid. How much difference could 17 minutes really make?!_ Sey'les thought.

"I promise, you will make it out in time for the memorial service Sey'les," the droid said consolingly.

_Oh… Memorial Service._ Sey'les swallowed the Bacta. It was bitter in her throat too. The aftertaste still filled her mouth. She slunk to the bottom of the Bacta tube remembering yesterday's events.

* * *

Sey'les walked in her hospital gown to her room wearing her trench-coat over it. Everything felt colder.

Wulf had already been discharged. She assumed he must be sleeping now. She felt guilty leaving Hashtivar in the sickbay all by himself, but he looked asleep in his Bacta tube anyways.

The smell of Bacta was really beginning to bug her so she promptly headed for the shower after getting back to her room. After a ten-minute soak, she wiped the mirror off with her towel and looked at her face.

_That scar on my snout, it'll probably be hidden by fur in a week. That lighter dot in the centre of my nose… damn._

She took a deep breath and could smell her own wet Bothan musk and sighed with relief. _No Bacta, no Nuna bacon, no burnt meat._ As Sey'les began sniffling again, she slammed her hand on the counter and stopped herself.

Sey'les was becoming very frustrated by her grief. It was not something linear with a beginning, middle, and end; it had climaxed already, yet constantly cycled up again whenever something reminded her of it. By this point, she just wanted it to vanish.

_I am so hungry_ , Sey'les realised. She decided to accomplish two things at once and ate one of her cans of fermented Bith beans while drying off in bed. The memorial service was not for another two hours. Sey'les turned up the heater in her room, wrapped herself in her blankets, and continued eating, careful not to drop food on her bed.

After a few minutes of chowing down, Sey'les suddenly wondered, _what happened to the rest of my clothes?!_ Her Judicial top and gloves obviously were disposed of since they were burned, but she had no idea where her field boots were. _Well, I am wearing a dress uniform to the memorial anyways, so that's a problem I can deal with later_ , she thought as she swallowed another umami bite of squishy cold beans.

_No, I have to know_ , she dialled sickbay on her comm terminal. "Doc?"

"Sey'les, is everything all right?" the droid responded.

"What happened to my stuff? When I woke up you gave me my trench-coat, but what about my boots?"

"You are worried about that?" the droid asked with unsuppressed astonishment.

"Well, yeah…" Sey'les replied.

"I am checking… Kryto, the nurse, put them under your bed."

"Oh…" Sey'les said. She stooped under her bed and saw them. "Thanks doc."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with Sey'les?"

"No, I think that's all." She hung up.

Sey'les layed on her side, pulled out her datapad and clicked on After Action Reports. _How do I even begin? Well, I'll start with the time…_

**"TO: DIRECTOR OF EED**

**OPERATION: FLEETING ECLIPSE**

**1800 Coruscant time, Team Muun deployed to the surface on Antar on a Nu-Class shuttle along with Team Aurek from the HRD. There were delays to our approach related to the weather, but we still arrived ahead of schedule—"**

As Sey'les began thinking about the moment in which she and Wulf agreed that breaching the ground floor was a bad idea, angry tears started flooding her eyes. _Kriff Captain Ozzel. I am going to be ruthless._

**"—The original plan was for us to breach the lower level in a loud breach. The bottom level looked like a trap with no strategic importance. Scaffolding connected the area outside of the building directly to the second floor. The bottom level looked abandoned. After asking my second in command, Agent Wulf, if he agreed, we relayed this information to Captain Ozzel, he suggested a quote unquote 'compromise.' Rather than changing the mission, Captain Ozzel decided to change it slightly, send in Team Aurek in a loud breach, and to send us to the abandoned level in a silent breach.**

**After performing a successful silent breach without incident, we discovered the room was strategically unimportant. There were no personnel and the only equipment seemed to be desks and furniture arranged as obstacles to force intruders towards the centre of the room.**

**As Team Aurek landed on the roof, lights became visible in the corners of all of the walls. I ordered a retreat but when it was clear that our path out was blocked by lasers, my second in command suggested we climb. He pulled me and Agent Hashtivar up above the laser line. I pulled Agent F'laro up but was unable to get him above the laser line. Shortly thereafter, every Agent below the laser line was burned through by beams of plasma. Agents Weequi, Nor, and F'laro were killed…"**

At this point, Sey'les began thinking of Suldor. As incompetent as Captain Ozzel was, his hands were tied by bad intelligence. The fact Skyhook 1 was destroyed, the reason why tens of thousands of people died, was at least partly because Suldor did not inform Captain Ozzel of what Sey'les and Wulf saw. Sey'les had recorded it in her previous after-action report and thought that Suldor would address it.

_KRIFF! Why didn't I speak up? I guess part of this is because I was distracted by the implanted bomb crisis afterwards but ugh. It's my fault too…_ Sey'les began feeling extremely angry with herself. _I need to focus on something else…_

_What's something completely different? Hmmm… I got it._

Sey'les closed out of her after action report and opened the Judicial Library. _I need to read up on Bothan eyes, so I don't feel like such a moron_. The fact Sey'les felt like how she perceived Wulf to be, when she was around Hrelduussk, still bothered her. Albeit, it was a minor concern compared to the previous day's events. Sey'les respected Wulf as an Agent and considered him to be her best friend, but she knew he was very far from the sharpest tool in the shed.

After searching **"Bothan Eyes"** the top of her search results was _the Exobiology of the Eye_ by Master Yarael Poof and Jazal. _A book written by Jedi?! What!_ The corner sticker on the photo of the cover indicated it was curriculum for year 11 students on Coruscant. The inside cover showed a picture of the two Jedi. One was a lanky being with an extremely long neck; Sey'les did not know his species. The other, to her greater shock, was an eyeless Miraluka. _A Miraluka with no eyes wrote the book on eyes?!_

The index showed dozens of chapters in the book split into many sections. Under **"Mammals"** Sey'les saw a chapter on Bothans.

**"The Bothan eye is of particular interest to mammalian exobiology. While the Bothan eye appears to be a normal dichromatic or trichromatic mammalian eye—"**

Sey'les held her furry finger over **"dichromatic"** and a definition appeared **"having two colours,"** then **"trichromatic"** was **"having three."**

**"—it is in fact tetrachromatic."**

_Yeah yeah, tell me something I don't know_. The next section contained a depiction of a Bothan eye with labelled parts.

**"The first of the Bothan cone cells…"** _blah blah blah,_ Sey'les skipped ahead to the Function section. The first line of it sounded a bit more interesting.

**"As with human eyes, the Bothan eye has two types of cone cells in the longer wavelength range peaking at 560 nm and 530 nm. The third cone cell is an analog to the human S cone cell, and peaks at a slightly longer wavelength than the human S cone, at 445 nm, roughly corresponding to blue. The final Cone Cell, the U cone cell, peaks at 405 nm. It is hypothesised that the U cone cell would peak at 330 nm, in the ultraviolet spectra, if it were not for the lens of the Bothan eye."**

_Why are our eyes so stupid?_ Sey'les thought almost angrily.

**"While the Bothan eye cannot see as far into the ultraviolet spectrum as most tetrachromats, such as Bardottans and Umbarans, they are sensitive to the absence of ultraviolet light."**

The words 'Bardottans' and 'Umbarans' were a hyperlinks which would take Sey'les to the chapter on Bardottans if she clicked it.

**"Because Bothans are sensitive to the absence of UV, it allows them to more easily differentiate organic material that absorbs UV light from material that reflects UV light. This is hypothesised by some to be an evolutionary reason for why tetrachromacy persisted—"**

—Sey'les stopped reading and looked at the picture below: snow on Bothawui with a clump of pitch-black fur and a pitch-black spot. _I don't know what the hell that is supposed to be_ , Sey'les thought before reading the description.

**"Urine absorbs UV light and so do most types of hair or fur. This would make urine and hair appear to Bothans as dark in contrast with bright UV rays reflected from snow on Bothawui-4. For this same reason, it would also make fish readily visible under the surface of water. Some xenobiologists take this as evidence for the controversial Aquatic Bothan Hypothesis."**

_Gross! That is not what piss looks like on snow anyways!_ Sey'les was angered by the photo. In reality, fur and urine on snow or white sand on a beach would look only slightly darker than the things around it, like a dark stain, and _gross. But wait a second… humans and other trichromats can't see urine?_ Sey'les wondered.

**"Another factor that may have favoured Bothans maintaining their tetrachromacy, while most mammals lost it, is that many of the migratory birds of Bothawui-4 have purple plumage. Enhanced sensitivity to purple and violet colours in the visible light spectrum would help a Bothan to identify potential prey from the purple and violet foliage. Bothans are sensitive to the same degree of colour differentiation between 400 and 450 nm as humans are between 550 nm and 600 nm."**

_Purple things do always look a bit tasty,_ Sey'les thought. When she was at the Bothan Martial Academy, they blasted purple tracer rounds. She often had felt annoyed that the shots from Bothan Boola carbines looked tasty. She would never have tried to eat a blast from one, but she felt it was almost a safety hazard.

Reading on, she encountered worksheet exercises and a group activity reminding her that this was a textbook for children. _Ugh, children._ Sey'les shuddered as she speculated how embarrassing it would be for a Bothan to grow up on Coruscant, have this textbook, and have a bunch of beings, probably mostly humans read about that— _read about how I can see urine stains._

_Well, I am glad that ungrateful lizard didn't mention that to his brats. 'Sey'les is sssentient Yasska. Dessspite being sssentient, her eyes are quite stupid. She is one of the only sentients in the Galaxy who can see urine ssstains on the snow. Urine ssstains!'_

Suddenly, she could smell a whiff of Ardennian which grew stronger. As she started to get dressed, her door chimed.

"Hi Wulf, I'll be ready in one minute…"

"Oh, hey Sey'les. I just wanted to see if you were okay," Wulf yawned.

"I am supposed to ask you that Wulf," Sey'les replied, deciding to just get changed into her dress uniform. The memorial was in less than an hour now. "All right, almost done…"

After a minute, Sey'les pressed the button to unlock her door and it slid open.

Wulf was wearing a Judicial dress uniform too. He had several bald patches around his face like Sey'les and also some scarring on his chin and on his blue forehead, right where his eyebrows used to be. His grey facial hair had completely burned off, but fortunately, it was much thinner in the first place than Sey'les's fur. It gave him the appearance of being old and balding.

Sey'les blinked a few times in shock staring at his face for the first time under light. During the chaos on Antar 4, Sey'les had only looked very carefully at Hashtivar. She had seen Wulf from a few meters away, and stood next to him, but she never stared at his burns.

"That bad is it?" Wulf asked, raising one of the scars on his head where his eyebrow used to be.

Sey'les stepped back from the door allowing him space to step in, "Sorry Wulf. I'm not much better," Sey'les sighed. "I have been writing my after-action report and—"

"—if it's too much, I could help."

_Oh no!_ Sey'les imagined Wulf's typos and horrible unexplained acronyms. "No, that's not it. I do need time to think things over, but I wanted to thank you for saving Hashtivar and me," Sey'les blurted out the last part holding back a sob.

To Sey'les's surprise, Wulf suddenly hugged her with all four arms.

Sey'les stood still in shock for a moment, then hugged him back.

"I just feel so useless," Sey'les sobbed. "There was so much more I could have done, and I just froze. I am the team leader—"

"—you were in shock Sey'les," Wulf replied with a sniffle of his own. "You aren't the only one you know. I could have chucked you and Hashtivar up into the vents and grabbed the rest—"

"—Wulf, you were struggling to pick us up," Sey'les replied.

"Not really, not before F'laro grabbed on at least. It's more that I didn't think of it—"

"Well, that's not your fault either and what?!" Sey'les asked in shock.

"Yeah, picking you guys up wasn't that hard," Wulf gave a sobbing chuckle. "I've been letting you pretend you were stronger than me because I can tell it makes you uncomfortable—"

"PRETEND?!" Sey'les snarled.

To her amazement and fury, Wulf picked her up with ease with just two of his four arms, straining only slightly. As she started to feel her boots sliding off, Wulf lifted her up again as if to prove his point further, then set her down.

"All of that time you were holding back Wulf?! Blast. Have you been faking your physical fitness scores too?" Sey'les growled.

"Nah, just because I can pick heavy things up does not mean I can run two clicks quickly," Wulf said. "You really are faster than me at that."

Sey'les's door closed automatically after receiving no input for a minute.

Wulf scratched the back of his neck and looked at her with an awkward wince, as if afraid she might explode with rage.

_Everything I thought I knew was wrong! Wait a second._ "Wulf, this isn't a big deal," Sey'les sighed. "I am really only angry because you were holding back, but it's okay."

Wulf wiped off the tears that had formed in his eyes.

Sey'les did the same. "Now what?"

"Well, I wanted to visit F'laro, Nor, and Weequi's caskets before they shipped them off, and was wondering if you wanted to come," Wulf said in a tone that was so calm, in this context it sounded almost nonchalant.

"Shipped them off? The memorial is in—"

"—Yeah memorial." Wulf interrupted. "F'laro, Nor and Weequi will each be getting funerals on their worlds from their families I presume. This isn't a funeral Sey'les, and they aren't being brought back to Coruscant," he explained.

Sey'les had always imagined being buried in a cemetery on Coruscant if she were killed in action. It felt like home to her, but she supposed her family would not like that.

"What's the matter?" Wulf asked suddenly, interrupting Sey'les's thoughts.

"Yes, let's go."

* * *

As they approached the hangar the bodies were stored in, Sey'les could hear a very loud weeping noise from the hangar. It was Captain Ozzel.

"Is that Captain Ozzel?" Wulf asked with slight bitterness to his voice.

"I think so," Sey'les replied.

As Sey'les and Wulf approached the door to the hangar, the door opened and Cas emerged, nearly bumping into them. She looked like she had been crying.

"Hey, Sey'les, hey Wulf," she said quietly.

"Is that Captian Ozzel?" Sey'les asked.

"Yeah, he's been in there for over three hours according to Hitchens."

Sey'les had no idea who Hitchens was and did not care to ask. She suddenly had very conflicting feelings over throwing Captain Ozzel out the airlock in her after-action report.

"Well, could I get by?" Cas asked Wulf and Sey'les who were both frozen in the doorway.

"Yeah sure—"

"—sorry," Cas said as she squeezed by them.

"Wulf, Sey'les, is that you?" Captain Ozzel yelled across the hangar.

Wulf groaned.

"Yes Captain, it's us," Sey'les replied, then asked "Um… permission to enter sir?" Sey'les was completely unprepared for this type of situation and did not know how formally to treat it.

"Granted," Captain Ozzel said in a croaky voice.

Sey'les and Wulf stepped in almost reluctantly.

Captain Ozzel had the look of a human who had cried but no longer had any tears left.

The hangar was empty except for one folding metal chair Captain Ozzel was seated in and 15 plain durasteel metal coffins in it with a tag. The font was large enough for Sey'les to read the nearest row: Ulbrek Zem, Dac Janos, Shiptar Frone, Dala Biggs, and Naftar Yarille.

_They must be the SBI personnel_ , Sey'les thought. She had not heard of a single one of them.

Wulf and Sey'les started walking past the first row searching for the coffins their team was in. _Of course, Captain Ozzel was seated at their coffins_ , Sey'les realised.

Captain Ozzel looked absolutely miserable and smelled like some sort of wine. He was paler than she had ever seen him and had dark circles under his eyes.

"Sir, are you okay?" Sey'les asked nervously. _That's a kriffing stupid question_.

"Yes, I am Agent," Captain Ozzel sniffled before blowing into a handkerchief. "I just wanted to say, I am sorry. I should have—"

_Kriff decorum. He's been here for three kriffing hours._ Thinking about what Wulf did earlier, Sey'les spontaneously hugged Captain Ozzel, wincing at the foul smell from his wine-breath mixed with his body odour. She turned her head sideways to avoid poking his chest with her snout.

Captain Ozzel let off a yell in terror as if he thought Sey'les was attacking him. He tensed, bracing for attack.

"Sorry sir!" Sey'les said but squeezed him tighter. "No, Captain, I am not attacking you and I forgive you. I made mistakes too. I am sure you did the best you could sir, you weren't prepared with the right information and I—"

—Captain Ozzel hugged Sey'les back gingerly and gave her two awkward pats on the back.

In spite of the sad circumstances, standing literally a meter from their dead team members, Wulf let off a chuckle then swallowed it as if afraid to laugh. If Captain Ozzel's reaction were not so odd, Sey'les would have been angry.

Sey'les let go. "Sorry for the awkwardness. I thought you needed it."

"I suppose I did, thank you Agent," Captain Ozzel said with a gruff cough, clearing the phlegm in his throat."

"Um… whoa that was crazy Sey'les," Wulf groaned finally while taking a deep breath. He folded both of his sets of arms defensively as if afraid of contracting the awkwardness. A look of pure bewilderment crossed his face.

Before Sey'les could reply, Captain Ozzel said "Indeed. These are crazy circumstances though, Wulf."

"Sir," Sey'les struggled to modulate her voice between a growl, a calm voice, and a sob. "We came here to say goodbye to F'laro, Nor, and Weequi, but it just occurred to me—"

Captain Ozzel mistook her tone. "Very well Agent, I was about to finish…" he gave a weary sigh, "Finish up here in any case."

"You don't get it," Sey'les growled, deciding on a growl over a sob. "I was wondering sir, if I could get the contact information for F'laro, Nor, and Weequi's families."

"Sey'les, as the ranking officer, it is my duty to inform their families, not yours," Captain Ozzel said consolingly.

"That's not why sir. I was thinking, Captain, that Wulf and I, and maybe Hashtivar if he feels up for it, could write letters to their families since we won't be at any of their funerals."

Wulf looked a bit hesitant, as if Sey'les had volunteered him for a task he did not quite want to do.

"Very well Sey'les, Wulf, I will see what I can do," Captain Ozzel sighed.

"See you at the memorial, sir," Wulf said.

"See you there."

"Well, that was the weirdest thing I have ever seen you do," Wulf said while giving Sey'les an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry about that Wulf," Sey'les said as she exhaled deeply, then looked down at F'laro's coffin. "I was just very angry at the Captain this morning. To be honest, I was going to throw him out the airlock in my after-action report—"

"—they don't seem to read those things anymore anyways," Wulf interrupted.

"Agreed," Sey'les growled angrily. "But that's not what I was trying to say. I was very angry at Captain Ozzel but then, for some reason, seeing that he was also sad made me not able to hate him anymore. It was unexpected. I thought of bringing up my after-action report to Captain Ozzel but I didn't."

"Why not?" Wulf asked, looking up from Nor's coffin.

Sey'les looked around the room nervously to make sure no one was listening. "He's a Captain and a kriffing idiot, but I don't want him to feel even more guilty and upset than he already is."

"I still don't get it," Wulf replied. "Why don't you want Captain Ozzel to feel bad? To be honest, it…" Wulf looked for a moment like he was going to angrily punch Nor's coffin, but then stood up after taking a deep breath. "It angers me that he gets out of this whole thing, this mess uninjured when fifteen of us and 40,000 Antarians are dead, we are scarred. Hell! We are literally standing right next to half of Team Muun."

"He may be physically uninjured but—"

"—I know, he's sad Sey'les," Wulf interrupted angrily.

"It's more than that," Sey'les sighed. "We are Captain Ozzel's people too. Could you imagine how guilty you would feel if you were in charge of this whole thing?" she asked, waving her hand around motioning to all of the coffins. "He may be incompetent, and he may be partially to blame but he didn't kill us. The Separatists did. Wulf, we can't view this an us versus them thing. We can't trust officers like Captain Ozzel or the Jedi implicitly but hating them is…" Sey'les could not think of a word. She paused for a few seconds, and then settled on "a waste."

Wulf sighed. "Is it weird that I feel less sad than I did earlier even though I am standing right next to their bodies?"

"Me too," Sey'les said thoughtfully. "I don't know. That also bothers me. Maybe we've been sad for a while and are getting over it?"

"I don't think it works that way Sey'les," Wulf replied in a quiet voice.


	25. Jazal

Alpheridies

The bright room in the Jedi Temple was a very strange place to hold a Judicial briefing. Normally, briefings took place in rooms with desks with documents and datapads on them, or in rows of seats in front of a podium with a main viewer. This room was intended for council meetings and designed for Jedi who meditated.

With Awerl, Pax, Driffu, and Averross not in physical attendance, there were enough chairs for everyone. Kier, Higil, Soqes, Oc'nel, Carver, Fojo, the pilots Rama Stunol, and Lanya Pran. Driffu called in as a hologram and Awerl and Averross were on a ship back to Coruscant.

Fojo had a few bandages on his face. Jazal could sense Carver's bandages and injuries under his uniforms. Oc'nel, of course, was still wearing an eyepatch. With those only exceptions, Awerl and Averross were gone and everyone was dressed formally for once.

The longer Jazal sat here, the more she realised this entire briefing was a mistake. _Averross planned for 11 beings to debrief the Jedi High Council and Director of Extraordinary Extraction at once when he could have easily done it alone, or maybe with my help. Damn. I should have changed this._

One of the Holopads suddenly started chiming. Oc'nel answered it and to Jazal's surprise, it was not a Jedi, but Pax's face propped up by a pillow. Some bandages were visible on the top of his head.

"Pax?" Oc'nel asked.

"Agent Pax?!" Jazal yelled alarmed.

"Hey Jazal," Pax said in a slurry voice.

Carver, Fojo, and Oc'nel chuckled.

Jazal sighed. "Pax I don't think you are in any condition to—"

—twelve of the Holopads lying around the room began ringing. Oc'nel accepted the calls one at a time walking around the room in a circle before Jazal could say _wait!_ Eleven of the twelve High Council Members and Director of the EED Voth Savine, called in. Master Sekura, the only Council Member not present, had retrieved Averross and Awerl and presumably could not make a call through hyperspace.

_Great! Pax is involved too now!_

"Master Jazal, it is good to hear from you again," Kenobi said as they called in. "Don't worry about introductions Jazal, Agents, we have set the holograms to display everyone's name— Pax?!"

"Hey Master Mace Windu, hey Yoda, hey—" Pax slurred.

—Yoda let off a loud amused chuckle.

Jazal sighed. _Yoda is certifiably senile._

Kenobi replied in a consoling voice, "You do not sound like you are in any condition at all to—Jazal?! Did you really include Pax in on this?"

"No Masters, I did not. I was about to tell him he did not have to participate when you called. Pax?"

"Yes Jazal?" Pax slurred.

"Hang up and get better please," she said sternly.

"Alrighty Master," Pax replied then hung up.

_Why was Pax trying to call in the first place? Is there something from the briefing he wanted to find out?_

"Now that that's out of the way, let's begin," Mace Windu said filling the momentary pause. "As you all know, Rael Averross has been removed from the taskforce. We have decided to include Obi-Wan in on the briefing since well… You're involved now," he turned to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan did not look back.

The topic of the briefing started from Felucia, then focused on the bug in Passel Argente's hat. The High Council unexpectedly seemed more interested in the droids that had nearly overpowered Jazal, than in the destruction of Rhen Var Station.

When Higil asked if they had any new information on what happened to Rhen Var Station, Ki-Adi-Mundi said that the damage was "consistent with pirates."

Things became more interesting at the end of the briefing.

"We have now taken Awerl and Averross into custody and they are being transported back to Coruscant. There is something very troubling that happened on Alpheridies station. If any of you have any information on what might have happened, we would appreciate it," Master Depa Billaba said in her concerned tone.

"So would I Agents," Director Savine interjected.

"Master Sekura reported to us that she and Extraction Team Delta found Awerl and Averross not in the brig, but in the station's sickbay with bruises, ripped out hair, and several broken bones." Billaba said in a grave voice. "Averross and Awerl claim that a group of eight Wookiees assaulted them. Security camera footage verifies that claim. The Wookiee ship was registered to the mercenary firm Executive Outcomes—no actually 'Éxecutive Outcomes,' apparently."

Almost everyone in the room gasped.

"My intelligence network has not come up with anything. At the moment," Billaba sighed, "we have no idea what could be going on."

Jazal sensed that Driffu wanted to laugh but suppressed it. Jazal felt slightly guilty about having taken Averross's lightsaber, but then the feeling quickly subsided.

"That is very disturbing indeed," Jazal agreed. "I am just hearing of this now. Agent Driffu, you are on Alpheridies Station correct?"

"Yes, Master," Driffu answered.

"Why did you not tell me of this?" Jazal asked in her most interrogative tone.

"I didn't know about it," the Gand echoed from her gas mask.

Jazal could sense that Driffu was now concealing her feelings using the Force shutting Jazal out completely. _I want her badge,_ Jazal thought angrily.

"Is everything all right Master Jazal?" Luminara Undili asked. "You seem distressed."

"For the most part, Master Undili," Jazal said in her most even tone. "Perhaps, it would be best though if everyone else were dismissed."

"Very well," Mace Windu replied. "Agents, you can leave now, we have somethings to discuss with Master Jazal. Director you can also—"

"Master Windu, it would be best if the Director also heard this."

Shifting backwards in his seat and sitting up straight, Windu acquiesced. "Okay Jazal," he said with a slight warning as if to say _this had better not be Jedi business you are including the Director in._

"See you later Jazal, have a good afternoon Masters Jedi," Higil said courteously as he left.

"Yeah, have a good afternoon Masters Jedi," Oc'nel and Kier parroted.

"See you later," Carver said in an awkwardly casual tone as he strolled through out the door.

Fojo managed to walk out without saying a goodbye, mixed in with the departing crowd, along with the pilots.

Driffu hung up without saying a word.

Jazal could sense Oc'nel waiting for her in the hallway—perhaps attempting to eavesdrop with his powerful Bothan ears. _I'll have a chat about that with him later._

"Masters Jedi, Director, I suspect Agent Driffu is withholding information."

A few of the High Council members sat back straighter than they had been. Obi-Wan Kenobi touched his beared thoughtfully. With those exceptions, their reactions were very controlled and unnoticeable.

"Those are very serious allegations," Director Savine replied. "Master Jedi, do you have proof?"

"No Director, this is why I said 'suspect.' If I knew for certain I would have reported it already," Jazal said as evenly as she could.

"What makes you suspect Driffu?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked in a sceptical tone.

"I know Gands are force-sensitive," Jazal replied.

Director Savine could not hide his scepticism and folded his arms crossly.

Jazal continued, "before the events in the cantina Driffu warned Awerl not to go to the planet's surface. She seemed rather gleeful after it happened and cackled with laughter on our comms. Just now, I sensed she was hiding something."

"Well, that is certainly poor Judicial bearing," Director Savine admitted. "I do not think it is evidence of malfeasance though and, as I am sure you know, it is not a crime to well… This is Jedi business I know almost nothing of, but it is not a crime to predict something and ignore it."

"Indeed," Yoda said annoyingly serenely. "Still though Director, to keep a close watch on Driffu, I recommend. Circumstantial, Jazal's information is, but troubling it also is. If correct, Jazal's suspicions are, then a danger Driffu presents to her team, whether or not her actions are legal."

"I shall keep that under advisement Grand Master Yoda. If that is all there is Jazal, I really must be going."

"Yes Director, that was my only remaining concern and what was troubling me. Thank for your time Masters, Director," Jazal said with a bow.

The Council returned her bow with slight nods and hung up one at a time. The Director simply hung up.

Jazal exited the empty room and turned to face Oc'nel once she was through the door.

"Itoll," Jazal started sternly, "I don't want you trying to get involved with Jedi business."

"That wasn't Jedi business though, and sorry Jazal, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," Oc'nel said. "I knew about everything you were talking about anyways. I was there the first time Driffu acted suspiciously and I share your suspicion."

Jazal could sense he was being honest. "Sorry Itoll, but sometimes I suspect—well never mind." _Sometimes, I wonder if you are a spy_ , Jazal thought guiltily to herself.

"Now that that's out of the way, now what?" Oc'nel asked.

"Now we need to meet with Masters Grier and Ov-bion, then we go see Pax. I think you should tell Grier and Ov-Bion that you are hover-skiing."

"Hover-skiing? Oh yeah," Oc'nel mumbled a bit stupidly. "Might we really be able to fit in a bit of hover-skiing Jazal?"

"We could have if Averross and Awerl had not started a cantina fight. We are a day behind schedule at the moment."

"Jazal… You do know this is shore-leave, right?"

"Right. Just because it is shore-leave does not mean I give into the whim of the moment, Bothan," Jazal said in an arrogant Jedi tone as she began walking into the main entrance hall.

* * *

"Of course, your taskforce is welcome to stay here for the remaining five days or come and go as they wish. There is quite a bit of this planet they could see," Ov-Bion said serenely.

"That is very kind of you," Jazal replied. "I will be visiting Actro Province for the next few days and… pardon me for a moment," Jazal said abruptly as she picked up her comm.

Grier and Ov-Bion appeared to be taken aback.

"This is Master Jazal. The briefings are done so you can do what you wish for the next five days. However, if any of you venture outside of Fospolis, I want you to go in a group of at least two. That is an order. Also, my strong suggestion to remain sober while on Alpheridies stays in effect. If any of you need to contact me my channel will remain open whether or not I am in Fospolis. The same will apply to acting team leader Oc'nel's comm. If you are in urgent legal trouble for some reason, obviously, you can contact the Republic High Commission. Jazal out."

"Sorry about that," Jazal said to the two Jedi. "But, as I said before, I am visiting Actro Province and Oc'nel is going…"

"Hover-skiing," Oc'nel pipped up quickly.

"Oh, that is lovely this time of year. A bit slushy, but not so cold," Ov-Bion said.

"It might be difficult for you with just one eye and no sunlight to reflect UV rays of the snow, Bothan," Grier muttered.

Jazal could sense that Ov-Bion was completely convinced but Grier knew Oc'nel was lying. Grier though, was enjoying playing with the Bothan.

"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that," Oc'nel chuckled and began playing with his eyepatch.

"Before I head off, Masters, I think I will see Pax first," Jazal said.

"I'll come too," Oc'nel added.

"Good idea," Grier replied. "I expect we will see you in a few days before you leave."

"Thank you for all of your help and hospitality in this difficult time," Jazal said earnestly.

"With all of this instability, I think it is soon going to be a difficult time for us all," Grier said in a sage voice. "But you are most welcome."

"We shall see you in a few days," Ov-Bion added, a bit too late as Jazal and Oc'nel headed down towards their quarters to get their things.

* * *

It had rained during the briefing and the steps were now slightly slippery.

Jazal sensed a puddle beneath the lowest step and stepped widely to avoid it. Her backpack stuffed full of hiking gear. A spare set of boots dangling from a velcro strap beneath her pack swayed precariously. Jazal decided to wear both straps of her backpack and pulled her loose strap onto her shoulder.

Oc'nel stepped right into the puddle and groaned.

"Sorry, I didn't think to warn you," Jazal said. "Although, you could just wear your boots right now, you know."

"Yeah, but they're uncomfortable. I'll wear them once we start our… skiing," he replied in an awkward tone.

"How are you so bad at lying? I thought Bothans were supposed to be good at deception," Jazal asked with amusement.

"I'm not a spy Jazal," Oc'nel added in a slightly annoyed tone. "I went to the Bothan Martial Academy. I was never trained to be a spy."

Jazal and Oc'nel stopped talking for a moment as they passed by Higil and Kier chatting with Reyl under a light at the gates to the courtyard.

"Hey Master Jazal, hey Oc'nel," Reyl said with a wave from her one arm.

"Hello Ma—Jazal," Higil said, "hey Oc'nel."

"Good afternoon," Kier said ironically in the darkness.

Jazal could sense that Reyl was feeling better. "How are you doing Reyl?"

"Pretty good. The doc says I should be able to get a working arm and leg once we get back to Coruscant."

"Glad to hear," Oc'nel said. "I am probably going to need one too."

"A new arm and leg?" Reyl asked with a smirk.

"Oh no, a new eye," Oc'nel said, fidgeting with his bandage again awkwardly. "Also, some new teeth, but those won't be robotic… I hope."

Higil laughed at that joke. Kier smirked a little bit. Jazal could sense that Kier thought Oc'nel was an idiot.

"We are off to see Pax," Oc'nel said, "and we will be gone for a few days, so I guess I will see you in a few days."

Jazal suppressed a sigh. _You goof._

"Where are you both going to?" Reyl asked.

Jazal tensed up as sheimaginedHigil tagging along, along with Drega. _Don't say hover-skiing, don't say hover-skiing, don't say—_

"Actro Province," Oc'nel answered with a grin.

_Damn. Even worse._

"Oh, all right, well, we'll see you in a few days," Reyl said.

_Phew. No questions asked. Good._

"See you later," Oc'nel said and then began walking beyond the temple walls.

"See you. If you need anything, I will be available to answer my comm," Jazal added before following Oc'nel.

* * *

"Sorry I tried calling in earlier," Pax sighed.

In the hospital room, the mysterious Wookiee female at Pax's side, who Jazal had never seen before, growled something.

"She is asking if I am the cute Bothan that you were talking—" Oc'nel started.

"—I don't need you to translate everything a Wookiee says Itoll. What? Cute Bothan?!" Jazal asked.

"Oh," Pax laughed. "I told her that I had a Bothan on my team because she thinks Kaleb Arany'lya is cute." He continued laughing on as if it were the funniest joke he ever told.

"Kaleb Arany'lya?!" Oc'nel growled in a shocked voice. "Of Alya Analytics?"

"Yeah, well…" Pax slurred after catching his breath. "It's a long story."

Jazal could sense that Pax was very weary from something and that growing suspicion was flooding Oc'nel's mind.

"I don't understand…" Oc'nel said. "How does she know Kaleb Arany'lya?"

"Change the topic of conversation. That's an order," Pax slurred. "I have a headache."

"All right," Oc'nel said and folded his arms defensively.

Pax sat up in a drunken pose and tapped the top of Oc'nel's snout with four fingers.

Oc'nel blinked twice in shock. Jazal did not need to sense his feelings to know he was annoyed.

"See Ghalabow? Them here Bothans. I should have studied them, not Wookiees."

Ghalabow growled something that sounded neutral and laughed a little.

"No, of course most of you are decent," Pax said.

Jazal could sense some deception from Pax and deep worry from Ghalabow. _How is Pax better at lying when he is on pain killers than Oc'nel is normally?_

"Pax," Jazal said sternly. "If there is something you need to tell me, you can tell me. If Oc'nel can't know about it then I can order him to leave."

"Honestly Jazal," Pax started. "It's not particularly dangerous for any of us. It would be better if you didn't know. Let's consider it need to know."

Jazal could sense he was being more or less honest. "Okay Pax, I don't think you should be making decisions like this when you are heavily medicated though."

"I am fine," Pax slurred.

_He definitely believes that,_ Jazal thought. _I seriously doubt it though._

"You two lovebirds get out and have some fun. I'll hold down the fort."

Jazal sighed. _Pax. Shut up._

Ghalabow growled something.

Oc'nel snarled angrily "You'll be interested in this Jazal. Ghalabow is saying—"

Pax gasped so loud it interrupted Oc'nel.

"—it's okay Itoll, calm down," Jazal said putting her hand on his shoulder. _Well, I did not know Bothans could make that snarl noise! Very annoying and a little bit scary._ "Pax, I know you are heavily medicated but seriously. Please don't talk about us or anyone else in our taskforce. Especially not with some—"

"—random nosy Wookiee you met Pax," Oc'nel growled. "Where did you meet her?"

Jazal was surprised when Ghalabow did not roar back, flip a table, or at least growl at that comment. _Huh. This is a very weirdly mature Wookiee._

"Oh, she… she owns the cantina and I lost my hat," Pax said in a slurry voice, as if that explained everything.

"This is how Agents like us get compromised, Pax. Maybe we should talk with the doctor about lowering your dose," Oc'nel said sternly.

"I agree," Jazal said. "But, Itoll, it's not really Pax's fault and I don't sense any ill-intent by Galabaw—"

"—Ghalabow," Pax interjected in a slurry almost Wookiee-sounding growl.

" _Ghalabow_. I don't sense that Ghalabow has any malicious intent," Jazal said calmly. "And she seems worried about Pax too. Agent, calm down, we need talk to the medical droid."

Jazal and Oc'nel left the room.

Jazal stood still for a moment musing. _I say 'calm down' and most beings just stop saying angry things but still feel angry_. Reaching out to Oc'nel she could hear him thinking of a comeback to whatever he had heard Ghalabow say. _'Metaphorically kriffing my boss. I'll give her metaphorical!'_ Oc'nel's mind said in a baritone sighed. _Perhaps I don't want to know._ She began walking to the right after exiting Pax's room.

Oc'nel started walking the wrong way.

"Where are you going?" Jazal asked.

"I thought that if we split up, we could find the medical droid quicker."

"There's no need for that. The droid is over there," Jazal said pointing down the hallway as she walked. She could sense the droid's metal shape two doors down.

"All right then," Oc'nel said and jogged up to her.

"Greetings," the medical droid said as soon as Jazal crossed through the open doorframe. "Is there anything I can help you with Master Jedi?"

"Is there any alternative medication we could give Pax?" Jazal asked the medical droid. "He seems very cloudy-headed and I worry that he may be making career-damaging mistakes."

"And that Wookiee seems to know about Bothan intelligence—" Oc'nel started.

"—yes, but I think Pax told her that information Itoll."

"Oh…" Oc'nel said.

Jazal could sense Oc'nel going deep into thought.

"There are a few alternatives," the droid started. "We could try a large dosage of non-prescription pain killers. It would be riskier for the Duros liver but probably wouldn't be a very big issue over just a few days. I could try a different prescription, but it has a side effect of itchiness and I worry that he might scratch himself."

"That doesn't sound ethical," Jazal said. "I don't want to put him at increased risk of organ damage. I just want him to be less cloudy-headed during his recovery."

"All right, I suppose I could lower his dose twenty percent," the droid said.

"Okay, of course, if Pax experiences too much pain you can—"

"—I am programmed with the medical knowledge of thousands of species Master Jedi," the droid said in an arrogant robotic voice. "I know what to do."

"Jazal, couldn't we just like… take his datapad away or something?" Oc'nel asked.

"I don't want to take away his ability to call me if he needs help and that doesn't solve the underlying problem. The problem is that he is recovering in a facility that is not secure. If we were on Coruscant or aboard the _Agarath_ this never would have happened, but he is in a public hospital," Jazal explained as she began walking back towards Pax's room. "Even if I take away all of his devices, he could still use a public terminal. On the bright side however, Alpheridies is very isolated. It is unlikely anything Pax does will make it off-world."

Oc'nel followed. "Maybe we should stay and watch Pax then," he said.

_Good suggestion. Annoyingly good suggestion because I don't want to spend the next week hanging around Fospolis because Averross decided to—_ "Good suggestion," Jazal said calmly despite her inner annoyance. "Others are surely staying in Fospolis though. I'll see if I can get anyone who is staying in Fospolis to check up on him, and if tomorrow, it sounds like the situation is not improving, we will come back here and keep an eye on Pax."

Jazal stood in the doorway and faced Pax and Ghalabow. "Pax, I have instructed the doctor to lower your dosage a little bit. You should be less cloudy-headed soon."

"All right," Pax slurred.

"In the meantime, I want you to stay off intelligence reports and I don't want you discussing classified information with anyone, understood?"

"Yes Master," Pax replied wearily.

"One more order: stop gossiping about members of the taskforce and Ghalabow?"

She said something that sounded like 'Uma Masha.'

"She means yes ma'am," Oc'nel explained.

"If I feel that you are compromising Pax or a danger to him, I will have to order the hospital to prevent you from seeing him."

Ghalabow moaned and growled.

"She means—" Oc'nel started.

"—Ghalabow says she understands," Pax slurred. He blinked twice stupidly while looking at Oc'nel and Jazal.

_He is so high I bet Averross would be jealous. This is ridiculous._

* * *

Departing from Master Yasek Hospital, Jazal decided to make one more call.

"Higil?"

"Yes, Mast— ma'am?" Higil started.

Jazal sighed. "Agent, you can call me Jazal, Master, ma'am, at this point I don't care that much, and we are on shore-leave. Are you planning on staying around Fospolis?"

"Well, Reyl wanted to visit the Equatorial Jungle. She brought her night-vision goggles and they have one trail that is paved so her wheelchair can—"

"—never mind, well, do you know of anyone on your security team who is staying?"

"No, I think we are all planning on exploring a little bit. I can stay here if you would—"

"That is not necessary Agent, thanks. Jazal out."

_Hmmmm_ , _who might be staying in Fospolis?_

"I bet Carver is staying around and Fojo too. I can't imagine them wanting to trek around much with burns," Oc'nel said. He seemed to realise what Jazal was thinking.

"You're right. I shouldn't be piling everything on the ships security teams anyways." Jazal picked up her comm again, "Carver?"

"Yeah Jazal?" Carver's voice echoed from her comm.

"Are you and Fojo planning on staying in Fospolis?"

"I am. Not sure about Fojo. I think he's in his room."

"If you are staying, would it be possible for you to check on Pax later today and then once a day for the next few days? I will also call him, but I would be more comfortable if someone on the ground was here. He has met a very strange Wookiee, and she doesn't seem very suspicious to me, but he is very cloudy-headed from all of the medication the hospital has given him."

"Understood, solid copy. Yeah, I can keep checking up on Pax for you."

"Thank you, Agent."

"No problem Master, Carver out."

"Jazal, could we see some plant-analogs?"

"Itoll, you've eaten food with plant-analogs in it and those right there growing on that building? Those are plant-analogs. But yes, we will be seeing lots of plant-analogs in Actro Province. Now, we have a train to catch."


	26. Lir Sey'les

Aboard the _Judicator_

Out of all of the dead represented at the memorial, it was Thaddeus Savit who sent her over the edge again. For some reason Sey'les did not understand, Savit had put in his will that various pieces of his music were to be played at his various memorials and funerals.

Shortly after getting condolences from Hrelduussk and Clahra, and learning that Suldor had been placed into stasis, Savit's bellowing opera voice started echoing out of the intercoms. Sey'les had to duck out at this point. Now, she was standing in front of a refrigerator in the empty kitchen.

Pulling out her datapad, she read the code 8422 and dialled it into the keypad with her patchy furry fingers. _This is such a stupid idea_ , she thought.

Sure enough, her 30-litre keg of Adumari Beer was in the refrigerator.

She tried lifting it. Not only was it far too heavy for her, but she could barely fit her arms around it. _Well, that was even stupider. It must be 80 kilos._

Sey'les searched frantically for something to help. There was a load lifter on the opposite side of the room. She pushed it across the kitchen, popped it under the keg, and stepped backwards dragging it out of the refrigerator, then spun the load lifter around, and pushed it through the kitchen and into the hallway.

Even pulling the keg along using a utility trolley was tiring.

A few crewmembers in the hallway got out of the way, pushing their backs up against the walls.

Sey'les smiled as best she could and said, "thank you," eventually reaching the turbolift.

She took the turbolift up five decks to deck eleven, the level her quarters were on. As the turbolift doors opened, she heard a conversation. Cas, Fenron, Wulf, Archard, and Rigel were arguing, calling for her, and arguing with some voices she did not know.

"Sey'les, can you please open up?" Cas pleaded.

"We only want to make sure you are okay Sey'les. We care about you," Rigel added.

"She probably doesn't want to be bothered Cas," Wulf said sternly.

"Sey'les, if you are in there, we are authorised to do a wellness check. We are coming in on the count of five," an unfamiliar voice said.

Turning around the corner, Sey'les saw two security officers in grey _Judicator_ uniforms and five of the Antar 4 survivors in blue. The security officers were attempting to override her door.

Eventually, Sey'les was planning on inviting all of the survivors to her place but this is not how she intended things to be. _Kriff. What do I do? What do I say?_ "Hey everyone! I am right here."

They all turned and looked shocked. Even Wulf looked shocked to see her pushing a giant keg on a cart, and his mouth hung open in a surprise. A few of the humans gasped.

Sey'les pushed the keg closer to her door as the crowd parted. "Well, I am alive," she said to the security officers.

"Very well Agent, I am glad to hear it," one of them said unironically before they both walked away.

Sighing, Sey'les put her thumb on the door key. She pushed the keg into her room once her door opened.

"Uh, Sey'les," Cas mumbled, "what is that giant barrel and where did you get it? Is that explosive or something?"

"It's Adumari beer," Sey'les sighed. "Alcohol is flammable I suppose," she said thoughtfully, then added "but Adumari beer definitely isn't."

Wulf suddenly had an amused smirk.

 _This must look so stupid._ "Did Captain Ozzel say when the Judicator was going back to Coruscant?"

"Tomorrow night," Rigel answered.

"Well I am going to—" Sey'les started.

"—Sey'les, there's no way you, or even all of us, could drink all of that. That must be—"

"—thirty litres," Sey'les interjected proudly with her first toothy feral grin since Skyhook 1 fell.

Rather than rolling her eyes this time, Cas looked worried.

"If you want to join me, all of you are welcome. I have lots of backpacks you can sit on, a bed, a desk, and one chair."

"I'll get another chair and some glasses," Wulf said. He did not sound as excited as he would have usually, but he did sound happy about the prospect of getting completely drunk before returning to Coruscant.

Sey'les entered her room and pushed the keg against the wall, took the black hose connected to it, put her canteen under it, and squirted some Adumari beer into the then took a sip and savoured the flavour and smell.

The humans were arguing in the hallway in worried whispers. She sipped her beer and listened to the conversation with mild amusement waiting for them to decide to come in.

"We can't possibly just leave her!" Archard yell-whispered.

"I agree," Fenron said.

"I think we should get the Captain," Cas whispered.

"No, he's getting pretty drunk himself lately in case you didn't notice," Rigel replied. "Do you guys think you can handle this? I want to get caught up on my application—"

"Rigel," Fenron whispered harshly, "the newly-formed Navy is just going to assign us to wherever they need us. They probably won't even consider your application to Republic Intelligence. But fine, go if you wish."

"All right," Rigel whispered. "I shall see you all later."

"See you," everyone else whispered back.

To Sey'les's surprise, the fact the humans were worried about her no longer amused her and made her feel like crying. She did not quite understand why and worried that she was going to choke up. While Sey'les stopped herself from sobbing, she could not stop a few tears from forming. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, hoping none of them saw.

"Do you play Pazaak Sey'les?" Archard asked from the hallway.

"I've played it once but—"

"—all right I will get my set," Archard interrupted.

Sey'les sighed.

Cas and Fenron entered. Cas took a seat on Sey'les's backpack containing a roll-up mat and Fenron sat on the floor next to her with his back against the wall.

"So, what are you all planning when we get back to Coruscant?" Sey'les asked.

"I've discussed this with the rest of Team Aurek. I think I am resigning Sey'les, rather than accepting a commission in the Navy," Cas said frankly. "I always knew there was a possibility of dying at this job but…" she just finished sighing sadly.

"Yeah, I get it," Sey'les replied, spinning in her chair to face them. "If I had kids, I think I'd quit too while I was ahead," she admitted before gulping down some more Adumari beer. "I think I'll take up a Navy commission though and keep at it until this Separatist shtak is handled. I feel like I am in it—in it too deep to quit right now," she stammered.

Sey'les realised she was beginning to snarl in anger as she talked about Separatists and straightened out her face. She said as neutrally as possible controlling her voice, "after then, I'll have to think about it. I already have eight years with the Judicial Department. Hopefully, they'll rebuild the Judicial Department into something better and there'll be something for me to return to. I really don't want to go back to Bothan space at this point in my life… How about you Fenron?"

"I think I'll take a commission in the Navy," he said simply, adding with a shrug, "I don't really have much else to do at this point."

Wulf arrived suddenly holding a chair with two of his lower hands and three glasses in each of his upper hands. Silently striding up to Sey'les, Wulf put the glasses on her desk.

Sey'les brought the black hose up from the keg and angled it over the first glass on the desk.

"Sey'les," Fenron added in a concerned voice. "I think we are ignoring the reason we are all here."

"Oh, I know why you are here," Sey'les said as she began filling the glasses Wulf handed to her.

"You do?" Cas asked.

"Yeah, you are worried because I cried earlier and left the memorial early."

"And…" Wulf added bluntly, "Sey'les, you also lugged a whole keg of Adumari beer I did not even know existed, right into your room."

Archard returned in the middle of their conversation with a metal briefcase. He popped it open and began sorting cards and pieces that represent money.

"I know," Sey'les croaked. "To be honest guys, hearing Savit's voice at this point was just a bit much. I didn't expect that."

"I didn't either," Archard said consolingly.

"The beer though. I know getting drunk won't make me feel okay about losing people. To be honest, I just kind of want to get drunk to celebrate like… survival, and to celebrate finally getting to leave this shtak hole. That was the whole reason I reserved the beer in the first place. I just wish Nor, Weequi, F'laro, Tonkins, Savit were here, and Hashtivar too."

"Me too," Wulf said. "Sey'les? Should we maybe wait until Hashtivar is feeling better?"

"Maybe, but realistically, Wulf I don't think—" Sey'les started.

"—Wulf, there is no way Hashtivar can drink anything alcoholic, at least for a few months," Cas said. "I don't know Chelidae anatomy, but his body is going to be dealing with painkillers antibiotics, all sorts of medication and he is going to need to stay hydrated. He is not going to be all better the second he pops out of the Bacta, not even close."

Sey'les sighed. It was basically what she was thinking but hearing that assessment aloud from someone else made her almost afraid of it. Hashtivar was crippled. They might be able to jury-rig some mechanical suit for him if he is lucky.

"Well, I suppose I could drink to survival," Archard sighed as he stood up and grabbed a glass.

Cas and Fenron stood up and approached Sey'les's desk, along with Wulf, each grabbing a glass.

"To survival," Fenron said grimly.

 _I did not say you can steal my toast Fenron_ , Sey'les thought angrily with a scowl, but ignored it. _That was grimmer than I would have made it!_

"To survival," everyone else said, including Sey'les, and banged their glasses onto Sey'les's canteen.

Wulf drank it and looked like he was savouring the taste. The humans mostly had varying degrees of wincing on their faces.

Cas plugged her nose as she took a sip.

"Don't be so dramatic Cas," Sey'les growled sternly.

"I didn't mean—thanks for the beer Sey'les," Cas said quickly.

Archard took a swig of beer from his class, then washed it out with something from his canteen.

"What's that?" Wulf asked.

"Oh, it's a system I invented," Archard said. He paused thoughtfully and looked around the room as if searching for words to explain this system. Finally, he said, "you see, I drink a volume of water equal to the proportion of alcohol. This helps me avoid becoming hung over."

Wulf started laughing.

Sey'les accidentally spat some beer onto her desk she began laughing so hard.

The Core World humans all looked completely flabbergasted.

"What is so funny?!" Archard demanded in a stern Coruscanti accent.

Sey'les strained, struggling to stop laughing.

"Well, it does sound a bit timid Archard," Fenron said thoughtfully.

"Timid?!"

"A hangover is not a big deal. It shouldn't be a hazard you avoid like the plague," Cas said. "But seriously you two clowns. Sey'les, Wulf, this is not _that_ funny."

Wulf caught his breath and stopped laughing.

Sey'les could not stop laughing and Wulf started again.

"This is very rude," Archard said impatiently. "Sey'les, if you do not stop teasing me, I am leaving."

Sey'les took a deep breath and got her laughing under control. "I am sorry Archard. I didn't mean to make you feel bad," she said with a hint of a chuckle. "That just sounded funny to me. This Adumari beer is also some percent water… dunno how much."

"Apology accepted, and, I knew that already," Archard said as he went back to shuffling his cards.

"I am sorry too Archard," Wulf said. "Sometimes when Sey'les laughs though, I can't stop laughing."

Pulling out a cloth from her top drawer, Sey'les began drying up the beer on top of her desk. _I'll wash it off later._

Fenron returned to Sey'les with two glasses.

Sey'les filled them both.

Archard finished setting up the Pazaak. "All right, who's in?"

* * *

Sey'les looked around the room in a proud drunken stupor at all of the faces. Wulf looked a bit distant, but everyone else was much more fun. _I managed to get all of the humans to drink with me. Shtak they are so drunk… except Archard._

"You know what's funny about this beer?" Fenron slurred.

"No," Sey'les slurred.

"It tastes good, but it smells like a wet Bothan."

Sey'les replied in a slurry snarl, "it does not smell like a wet Bothan!"

Cas giggled and collapsed back into the pile of backpacks on the floor. "Why, it does shmell like a wet Bothan," she replied laughing harder, teasing Sey'les's accent. Struggling to stay seated, Cas stretching out her arms like an airplane, as if to balance herself.

"Don't worry Sey'les, I like the way Bothans smell," Wulf slurred as he put one of his upper arms around Sey'les.

Blinking twice Sey'les tensed up. She wondered, for a moment, _am I comfortable with Wulf putting his arm around me? Yes. This is quite nice!_ She relaxed.

"I kind of like the way Bothans smell too," Archard said unironically as he took another sip of beer, then a sip of water. "It's like… Well it's funky."

 _Kriffing humans_ , Sey'les thought frustratedly and she gulped more beer. _We do not smell like Adumari beer. I suppose we smell kind of like Adumari beer… but not all Bothan clans even smell the same._

"A funky shmell," Cas corrected with a cackle.

Sey'les felt like she was beginning to get tunnel vision as her periphery got darker. "Stop teasing me, that's an order," Sey'les snapped. She looked down at her cards. "Whose turn is it?"

"Sey'les, I think I am gonna sleep this one out," Wulf slurred. His head swayed dangerously.

"What?" Sey'les asked as he lifted his arm off her shoulder, set his empty glass down next to her thigh, and just laid down on her bed.

 _Well that's weird. Guess he's had too much to drink_ , Sey'les thought. She picked up the glass and started walking to her bathroom. The floor felt like it was wobbling away.

"Sey'les, be careful!" Archard warned.

"I'll help her," Fenron slurred as he tried to stand. He fell backwards onto his buttocks and his back hit the wall with a thud.

"Remain seated Fenron," Archard ordered sternly. "You are even drunker than Sey'les. You too Cas."

Sey'les felt an arm slip under her left arm and pull her upright before she could tumble forwards.

"I've got you Sey'les," Archard said.

"I can walk myself," Sey'les slurred.

Archard laughed and took Wulf's glass out of her hand.

Sey'les and Archard reached the sink and she turned the cold water on and started slurping it into your snout.

"Ah, trying the water trick I taught—"

"—No, I am thirsty," Sey'les slurred with water in her mouth. "Thanks though."

"I think I am… I'm… gonna sleep this off," Sey'les mumbled and started stumbling back towards her bed. She had taken her boots off earlier, along with everyone else, but was otherwise still in uniform.

"Okay," Archard said. "I suppose I am now going to have to haul Cas and Fenron back to their rooms."

"I think I wanna sleep here," Fenron slurred.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna take a quick nap," Cas said. "Could you get me some water Archard?"

Archard looked completely puzzled. "Well, this is weird."

"I guess they can sleep here," Sey'les slurred as she plopped onto her bed next to Wulf. She laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep under the covers but couldn't because Wulf's heavy body was on them.

"Um… okay then. I guess I will check on you all in the morning," Archard said in a worried tone as he gave Cas a glass of water.

"Thank you," Cas slurred.

Sey'les fell asleep.

* * *

Sey'les opened her eyes. Things looked odd, a bit distorted, and she did not understand where she was. Looking around the room, she was in a room full of Bothans in military uniforms from all services.

She sniffed the air and could smell mostly musky Bothans from her moon, and some other familiar-smelling Bothawui Bothans. None of them smelled like Onels, Tannens, or Askars. Curiously, there was a slightly musky-sugar-smelling exotic aroma that could only be an Kothlis Bothan, or a Bothan with significant Kothlis ancestry. _One of you is from Kothlis, Thoran, or a colony world_ , she thought. _Am I at the Martial Academy?_

" _Leytenant_?" [Lieutenant?] saida yellow-eyed elderly Bothan male. He was coated in grey and wore a blue uniform covered in badges. Sey'les sniffed the air curiously. He was the one who smelled like an Alya.

To Sey'les's own surprise, she replied in a respectful voice _"Kiz Thri?"_ [Yes General?] Sey'les thought with alarm: _How do I know him? I have never even smelled him before!_ Looking down, Sey'les realised she was wearing a tan, brown, and orange-red Bothawui marine uniform. _What is going on?!_

The General growled " _Ęrz zhųl thąm."_ [They are here.]

Sey'les turned around. On the other side of the room, automatic metal doors parted ways. To her complete astonishment, Master Suldor walked in, smelling like stinky salty Mon Calamari. Something about him was different—far more sinister. Everything about his presence, other than his smell, felt wrong to Sey'les but she had no idea what it was. He was wearing a very strange looking black armour suit and his shoulders each had a six-pronged Sigil on them. Sey'les had never seen anything like the suit Suldor was wearing, nor had she seen a flag like that.

Behind Suldor came a Chagrian dressed in an eccentric red and black robe. He held a giant staff. Sey'les swore she had seen that Chagrian on the HoloNet, but she did not know who he was.

Next emerged three humans, two wearing black military uniforms with unfamiliar ranks, and one wearing a green uniform with an unfamiliar rank. The human in green had blonde hair and a blonde-brown moustache, the others in black were clean shaven. One was darker skinned with black hair, and the other lighter skinned with red hair.

Behind them was the most curious figure Sey'les had ever seen: a pitch-black armoured being, well over two meters tall, wearing a cape and a pitch-black helmet with a ventilator. He was the most frightening of the group and towered over all of the Bothans even more than his companions did. If Suldor felt scary and wrong, this figure felt far more so.

All chatter stopped and every Bothan snapped to attention. Sey'les instinctively did so too.

Suldor chuckled, turning his head to remark the entire group.

"Sirs," the Bothan General saluted, speaking Basic in a thick Bothan accent. He lowered his salute when none of the arrivals returned it. They just approached silently. "Gentlemen, we have the telemetry you sent us. Your forces are on display right here."

Sey'les turned around and on display on one screen were twelve human life signs. One of their helmet cameras was on displayed on another screen. All of the humans on display wore black and red armour, including black helmets with red paint.

The bottom of the telemetry screen was bilingual. In Basic High Galactic letters it said **"TELEMETRY 13,"** and in Bothese Cyrillic **"** **ТЭЛЭМЭТРИ** **13."**

"Very good," the dark figure replied.

Sey'les whispered " _Thri, nokiz ko kat bola panan Onel."_ [General, I don't want to hurt the Onels.]

"Only speak Basic when we are present!" Suldor hissed with venom.

Sey'les's snout was shut by an unseen force. Suldor was not only pinching it shut with as he had done to her in the past, but painfully squeezing it. "MMMHHHMMHM!" Sey'les moaned.

Suldor would not let go and held a constant painful pressure.

Sey'les stood still shaking with nervousness unsure what was wrong with Suldor. Her fur fell flat against her body in fear. _Does he remember me? He must._ Everything about him was wrong. She sniffed the air through her tightly squeezed snout and deduced that the dark figure was human. There were only three humans she could see, but she could smell a distinct fourth. The dark figure in a cape must be human.

The dark figure looked down at Suldor and Sey'les and said "Interesting…" Several more Bothans experienced their snouts being forced closed and gave nasally yelps. "It doesn't work well with humans unfortunately," the dark figure noted. "Interesting non-lethal punishment you have learned to inflict twelfth brother."

"Thank you, my Lord," Suldor said.

Sey'les stood helplessly. All she could do was watch the screen and wait for Suldor to let go.

"You are go for breach Lieutenant," the dark figure said into a small comm unit he held.

One of the armour-clad humans put a detonator of some sort on a hatch. It started sizzling, cutting through the door.

 _It's a space breach_ ,Sey'les realised suddenly. _We are helping these humans do a space breach! Why?_

From the helmet camera, Sey'les could see the figures in black and red armour rushing forth. Their tactics were non-existent. None of them were checking their corners and they held their blasters high instead of low. The humans were just rushing forth as fast as possible.

Sey'les would have said something had her snout not been forced shut. The human incompetence infuriated her. Even ten seconds of watching this was as painful as her snout pinch.

On the telemetry, the gravity turned off. All of the black and red armoured humans on screen floated. They panicked and screamed. Sey'les could hear them yelling in terror saying things like: "We are floating my Lord!" "MY LORD! WHAT DO WE DO!" "SIR, OUR MAGNETIC BOOTS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING!"

The dark figure in the room did not reply but looked up at the screen curiously.

Two figures with Bothan proportions, but taller than most, with slightly bigger heads, walked into view on the screen. They were probably Spacer Bothans. They wore black Reactive Interceptor Armour and carried durasteel Bothan Boola Carbines. Black slugthrower ammunition clips poked from the bottom the carbines. While their faces were hidden by RIS armour masks, the helmet shape was certainly snouted. The figures stepped towards the humans, wearing magnetic boots that somehow functioned.

The floating armoured humans tried shooting them, but every blaster shot recoiled, pushing the armoured humans backwards into each other and into walls. Not a single shot even hit close to the Bothans. The humans screamed louder than ever.

Their voices sounded eerily similar. Sey'les could not figure out why, but it was like the humans all had the same voice. Sometimes human men sounded very similar to Sey'les, but this was more similar than usual.

The RIS armoured figures both took cover around the corner as stray shots flew down the hallway.

A voice came into the dark figure's comm—the one the humans were calling 'My Lord.'

"My Lord! We can't hit them! The Bothans are wearing electromagnetic boots! The surfaces are not magnetic! OUR MAGNETIC BOOTS ARE USELESS! I am sorry, my Lord."

The two Bothans wearing RIS armour eventually came out from cover and emerged in the hallway.

One of the humans managed to push himself into a ceiling corner, braced himself, and shot one of the Bothans in their shoulder armour causing the RIS shoulder pad to glow.

The Bothan snarled loudly and squeezed a single burst into the human. He gave a blood-curdling scream as three slugs cut through his armour, one of them illuminated as a purple streak. One of the human bodies displayed in the Telemetry flashed yellow, indicating critical injury or a compromised suit.

Both of the figures in RIS armour began giving the spacer sign to surrender and drop their weapons without saying a word.

Some of the humans did as instructed and their weapons began floating freely.

One of the voices in the dark figure's comm was begging for permission to surrender to the Bothans. The dark figure they called 'Lord' seemed unable to process what was happening and just squeezed the comm frustratedly in his hand.

It was as if the humans were facing cowardly Bothan tactics which were so unexpected it left them flabbergasted.

The Chagrian was wide-eyed and two of the three human officer's faces were progressively becoming more and more red with anger. The third was becoming paler with fear.

"My Lord, those two Bothans aren't speaking. We cannot ID them!" one of the humans accompanying the Chagrian said as he tapped buttons furiously on his datapad.

The Lieutenant leading the breach continued asking for permission to surrender.

"My Lord," the Chagrian finally said. "It would be wise to let your men surrender. We could perhaps learn more information on these Bothans when they release demands in exchange for our personnel."

One of the armour-clad humans on the screen in the front of the group pulled out a thermal detonator.

The RIS-clad Bothans had enough. They aimed their weapons into the crowd and began ruthlessly blasting the floating humans _._ Forevery third shot, a tracer travelled through the air in a dark purple streak.

 _This is not a firefight_. _This is not a space breach or a breach of any kind,_ Sey'les thought grimly— _this is an execution_.

The humans screamed in terror as invisible slugs and very visible purple tracer rounds cut through them, their telemetry on the screen changing from green to yellow or red. Soon all remaining eleven bio-readings were red without a heartbeat. So much blood began filling the room it was impossible to make out anything through the dead human's helmet camera.

"They knew!" the dark figure called 'Lord' exclaimed. "You incompetent Bothans have not even terminated Botha'ahir's HoloNet feed have you?" he demanded to the room.

Suddenly, Sey'les felt her throat squeeze painfully. She gasped for air through her nose but could not breath.

Every Bothan in the room was choking to death.

Sey'les gave a choking moan, tears running through her eyes.

The Chagrian began banging his metal staff loudly on the ground yelling "STOP! STOP THIS AT ONCE! WE NEED THESE BOTHANS!"

One of the human officers also pleaded "My Lord, as a clan warfare expert I must protest. If you kill these Bothans you will unite the clans all against us. My Lord..."

 _They are going to kill me. They are going to kill us all!_ Sey'les thought in a panic. She struggled to exhale as hard as possible. "MMHHMMM!"

"I am the voice of the Emperor!" the Chagrian screamed. "Release them at once!"

The periphery of Sey'les's sight began getting darker.


	27. Zuro Pax

Alpheridies

Jazal and Oc'nel had departed less than two hours ago, but Pax already felt much more lucid. Earlier in the day, he had walked with a bit of help from the nurses.

He was now alone watching the news by himself with a tray on his bed, eating some black soup with black vegetables in it and some wheat crackers. The chunks tasted like starchy tubers.

Count Dooku was making a speech at Dennon University. Dooku had begun his speech with the words "there are two thousand Senators on Coruscant. Some of you live on worlds represented democratically in the Senate. Others live on worlds where a more populous world gets to appoint a Senator to represent you and your interests. Either way, at this point in Galactic History, the distinction is moot. There are two thousand Senators on Coruscant and not a single one cares about you."

Pax chuckled. "There is one Senator who cares about me. Kriffing Yarua," he muttered bitterly under his breath. _If only I could be so lucky to not have one Senator that cares about me_.

Count Dooku was now speaking out against the creation of a Republic Navy calling it a "dangerous provocation."

_He's right_ , Pax thought. _There is nothing in the Republic Constitution that says leaving the Republic is a crime._

Count Dooku added in a grave voice, "in response to this act of aggression, the Separatist Senate has proposed a collective defence bill. I am confident it will pass by the end of the week. If the Republic Senate votes to pass the rest of the Military Creation Act, we will have no choice but to create our own dedicated Separatist Navy."

_Well, now half of the Galaxy looks like it is going to declare war on the other half if a single member is attacked by the Republic, great._

"Watch out Pax, Dooku might make a Separatist out of you," Carver's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

"AAHHH!" Pax jumped.

Carver started laughing.

"Everyone keeps doing that to me!" Pax yelled in frustration.

"Sorry Pax, you should consider closing your door. Jazal and Oc'nel sent me to check on you."

"I don't blame them," Pax sighed. "The doc put me on an insane dosage of painkillers. I was so loopy that I told a random Wookiee ugh… never mind." Pax ate another bite of soup.

"Did you hear about Awerl and Averross?" Carver asked.

"Nope," Pax said truthfully. _I know it is not going to be good though. Kriffing Yarua._

"Strangest thing," Carver said with a chuckle, "some Wookiee hit squad beat the shab out of them up on Alpheridies Station."

Pax sighed. "Carver, there are many power plays going on that you really do not want to get involved with. It is all way above your pay grade. That is all I am going to say. If you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't laugh at that type of stuff. After this mission, I am resigning unless they keep some sort of Judicial unit active. There is no way I am going to join the kriffing Republic Navy."

Carver sighed and sat down in the plastic chair next to Pax. "Honestly, I've been thinking the same thing. What about your retirement though?"

"I'm not that old," Pax laughed. "I am sure I got some new wrinkles forming under these bandages, but I can definitely find a new career somewhere and I have quite a bit saved up."

"Well, if you need a partner I—"

"—hold one for one second," Pax said. Suddenly, his datapad was receiving a video transmission. It was from a 918-sector code. _Alpheridies. It must be Jazal and Oc'nel calling._

Pax opened the message and screamed in horror. It was a Koorivar face.

"Hello Agent Pax, I wanted to—"

Pax quickly terminated the call. _I disguised my voice and used a medical droid with doctor-patient confidentiality! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!_

Carver's mouth was agape, his eyes were wide. "Kriff… Kriff Pax did you?" Carver put his hands into his long black greasy hair and started tugging on it. "HOLY SHAB!"

"Must have been a wrong number," Pax said with a weary sigh.

"WRONG NUMBER! Wrong number my ass Pax. How kriffing stupid do you think I am? How kriffing stupid are you?! You could have gotten us killed on Felucia or Rhen Var! Do you care about that?"

"Truthfully," Pax admitted, "I did not have any correspondences with the Separatists in my entire life before yesterday, and I actually had those correspondences at the behest of a Republic Senator."

"Ahhh rubbish!"

"No, it's true," Pax sighed. "Believe it. Here? You want proof? In two days, Senator Yarua will move to try and solve the Wookiee blockade crisis over Kashyyyk. He is going to give the Trandoshans prefabricated structures, food, and other relief items."

"What the kriff does that have to do with anything?" Carver demanded.

"Ahh…" Pax croaked cynically. "Remember how I said you shouldn't worry about this stuff and it's way above your paygrade? My position? Senator Yarua got me my promotion and has using me for insider knowledge for years—"

"—kriff, still—" Carver gasped.

"—two days ago, a Wookiee engineer by the name of Wirarlu attacked the Trandoshans using intel from? Guess where?" Pax said dramatically.

"I don't know," Carver said angrily, clearly not sure where this conversation was going.

"PASSEL ARGENTE'S KRIFFING HAT!" Pax yelled.

Carver gasped.

"Close the damn door!" Pax snapped once he realised it was open.

Carver closed the door and looked at Pax.

"The kriffing Wookiees. This kriffing Wookiee compromised our intel. He destroyed our entire mission and abused it. Guess what he used it for?" Pax said impatiently.

Carver looked frustrated. "Why do you expect me to know—"

"To assassinate three diplomats!" Pax snapped. "Kriffing Senator Yarua, the Senator who owns my ass Carver—Yarua called and told me to leak the information to the Trandoshans. He also explained what his plan is, so everything going on right now? It's tied to what happens in the kriffing Kashyyyk system. That kriffing Wookiee. After Awerl and Averross put me in the hospital, I had to beg that Senator not to kill them for hurting me."

"That's why… holy shab…" Carver said as he sat back down. "HOLY SHAB PAX!"

"Yeah! Holy SHAB! I agree," Pax snapped. "Do you have anything smarter to say?"

Carver took a deep breath through his nose. "Is that why you always seem… well why you always seem to be able to afford nice things?"

Pax laughed. _My career is over anyways. Carver is going to tell Jazal and then I am going straight to prison. I deserve it anyways. This is kriffing—_

"—I want in," Carver said suddenly, interrupting Pax's thoughts.

"Uh, no you kriffing don't," Pax said. "Do you know how in over my head I am? I don't even know what IN means right now. For all I know it means being Yarua's butler."

"Kriff Yarua," Carver snapped. "I wouldn't want in on being a Wookiee's little pet human haha," Carver started laughing.

Pax exhaled angrily and balled his fists.

"No Pax, I want in with the Separatists. Those guys are loaded," Carver said in a scheming voice.

Pax sighed. _Carver is such a moron._ "Didn't you just get angry at me a second ago because you thought I was working for the Separatists? Do you not realise that I am actually NOTworking for the Separatists? Not. At. All."

"Context is king as they say," Carver explained. "I thought that you had betrayed us, as in, you had gotten us attacked, and risked our lives. If I find out that you have," Carver gave Pax a dark look, "I will kill you Pax, no hard feelings."

Pax gulped. "I didn't—"

"I know you didn't. What I am a getting at though is… kriff the Republic. I don't want to hurt anyone on our team but, if we could do something with the Separatists that gave us money but did not kill Oc'nel, Fojo, or Driffu I would be totally fine with it. Especially if it gave me enough money to not have to fight the Senate's stupid war. Now Pax, what I want you to do, is stay here and when Passel Argente or another Separatist calls back, take the call."

Pax started getting angry at Carver's tone. "Carver, I am still the team leader. You are still my subordinate. You can't just order—"

"—Pax, fine. Whatever. In that case, consider it a strong suggestion, sir," Carver hissed.

"If the Separatists want me to shoot Jazal or something, I won't do it," Pax said sternly.

"Obviously not. I wouldn't either, but if they have a good deal for us, I want to hear about it. I'll be watching the news in the meantime, Pax." Carver shut the door behind him as he stepped out.

_What an opportunistic scumbag_ , Pax thought with growing alarm. His respect for the human had fallen faster than a shooting star. _Kriff that Koorivar! What are the odds he would call right now? Why would he call? How did he know it was me?_


	28. Lir Sey'les

Aboard the _Judicator_

The first thing Sey'les saw when she woke was Wulf's scarred, wrinkly, patchy-furred Ardennian face. She blinked twice. _Okay, that was a dream. Why am I having so many dreams where my snout is forced closed… What? What! What is Wulf doing here?! WHAT IS THAT SMELL!_

Sey'les began to panic and tensed up in dread. One of the only things she remembered before her dream was relaxing when Wulf put his arm around her shoulder. _What did we do?!_

Then she saw her blue sleeve. She realised she was wearing her Judicial dress shirt and looked down. Both she and Wulf were wearing shirts and, far more importantly, pants. She exhaled a sigh of relief, smiled content with herself, then inhaled a deep breath of relief and almost vomited.

 _Holy kriff! What's that smell!_ It smelled like it was coming from the front of her bed. She leaned over and looked down.

Her boots were at the front of her bed immediately under Wulf's head and pillow. Wulf had vomited Adumari beer into her boots.

"AAAHHHH!" she yelled in horror.

Wulf didn't wake up.

Sey'les glared at him angrily. _You slept with me for some reason, we didn't kriff which is honestly half-good but very disappointing. Instead, you threw up into my boots! YOU THREW UP IN MY BOOTS!_ She felt like she was one second away from trying to squish him under her pillow.

 _Calm down. There is more to this story,_ Sey'les thought. She turned around and jumped after seeing two other people in her room.

She almost screamed in terror. The smell of Wulf's vomit was so strong that she did not smell two humans in her room.

Cas and Fenron were sleeping, both also wearing blue Judicial uniforms without boots. Three sets of boots were to their left near Sey'les's door, and a huge metal keg was next to Sey'les's desk. Thankfully, neither of them had vomited.

 _What are they doing here?! What… oh!_ Sey'les remembered drinking with the humans, getting them to listen to her, drink with her, and have fun. _Archard was here too. Where is he?_ Sey'les wondered. _I need to clean! I NEED TO CLEAN!_

Jumping from her bed in a panic, Sey'les realised she was still tipsy. She looked at the chronometer: 0657. _Six fifty-seven in the morning and I am still tipsy. Great_.

Sey'les pulled out her exercise uniform and started undressing from her Judicial formal uniform, not caring if the humans or Wulf wake up and see her.

None of them did.

Looking down at her feet, Sey'les figured her socks were still clean enough. She slipped on her running shoes and grabbed a rubbish bag. She gingerly grabbed the most vomit-free spots of her boots and dropped them in.

"Gross!"Sey'les whimpered as she felt some wetness. She walked quickly to her bathroom and washed her furry hands. She looked in the mirror. Her snout fur was still patchy but looked like it was growing back slightly; she still had a white spot in the middle of her nose.

She turned on her tap, filled up the random glass inexplicably in her sink basin, and started slurping down water that tasted like it was mixed with Adumari beer. _Oh… this is Wulf's cup_. _Whatever._ She drank another glass of water; this one did not taste like beer.

On her way out of her quarters, Sey'les grabbed the plastic bag containing the boots in one arm, grabbed her beer-spattered dress uniform in the other, along with her dirty trench-coat. She hurried through the hallway towards her deck's laundry room as if it the bag were about to explode.

A random crewman she met once at the memorial passed by and said, "Glad to see you are exercising Agent! Trying to show us all up I see."

"Thank you, sir," Sey'les replied with an insincere smile and continued hurrying to the laundry room. Sey'les was dumbfounded. _How does that idiot think I am exercising when I am carrying clothes? It is too early for stupid._

The laundry room had two racks of clothes washers and two racks of clothes dryers. The second rack was far too tall for Sey'les to hope to reach, but that was what—

"—Greetings Agent Sey'les," NL-572, deck eleven's black and red, six-armed, COO-series laundry droid chimed in a female robotic voice. She turned her thin head and glanced at Sey'les in the doorway.

Standing at two meters tall, NL-572 towered over Sey'les. She looked down at Sey'les, boring a hole into her soul with a creepy single yellow eye.

NL-572 was the only non-combat droid in the entire Galaxy Sey'les was afraid of. While most COO-series droids had boring personalities, NL-572 was terrifyingly nosy and moved her six arms around a little bit like a giant spider as she explained things to Sey'les. The way NL-572 talked to Sey'les, it was like she thought Sey'les was a toddler. She was the only droid in the Galaxy Sey'les had ever decided to call 'ma'am.'

"Good morning m'am," Sey'les said nervously as she passed her laundry to NL-572's arms. "NL, I am a bit early for laundry this time."

"You are correct. Your designated laundry day is—"

"—I know. I am very sorry ma'am, but I am having a laundry emergency. There is—"

"—I am detecting regurgitation and alcohol. Agent Sey'les, why is there regurgitation in your boots? It is an unusual variety of contamination to find on the inside of footwear." NL-572 continued scanning the interior of Sey'les's boots curiously with an intense red laser coming from one of her upper arms.

"NL—" Sey'les started

"—most unusual indeed. You see Agent Sey'les, normally humanoids wear shoes on their feet. When feet are protecting the interior of shoes, especially the furry feet of a Bothan, regurgitation tends to only impact the outside of shoes and only lands on your legs and ankles. Most curious. Agent Sey'les, your furry Bothan ankles should have prevented this regurgitation from entering the boots. I have never encountered such a mystery in my thirty years of service aboard the _Judicator_." NL-572 stopped scanning and looked straight into Sey'les's nervous face again with her one giant yellow eye.

NL-572 would sit there and stare into Sey'les's face until the Heat Death of the Universe, waiting patiently for an explanation of her dirty laundry.

"Well ma'am, I happened to not be wearing my shoes when this happened," Sey'les growled nervously. She was instinctively trying to sound submissive to make it obvious that she was not challenging NL's authority, but also growling, and thus capable of protecting herself if she had to.

"That explains it!" NL-572 said excitedly as she turned off her laser and started separating the clothes with all six of her arms. "Regurgitation in the shoes! How exciting! Agent Sey'les, I am putting your trench-coat and dress uniform in machine seven and your boots in machine eight. I will then dry your boots in machine twenty-three, the special shoe dryer, and dry your trench-coat and dress uniform in machine twelve."

Sey'les gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, ma'am. NL? Could I also borrow a floor cleaner?"

"A floor cleaner? Does this have to do with the regurgitation?"

"Uh, yes ma'am."

"Here you go," NL-572 said as she used one of her lower pinchers to hand a cleaning unit to Sey'les. "Return it soon please."

Sey'les left the room as quickly as possible.

When Sey'les was halfway to her quarters she heard NL-572 exclaim "Such strange and polite creatures these Bothans. Regurgitation in the shoes!"

Since she first met NL-572 seven months ago, many of Sey'les's nightmares were plagued by the droid. Sey'les knew it was not rational—as a class 5 droid, NL-572 was programmed to never harm an organic. In a fight, Sey'les knew, intellectually, that she could blast NL-572 to smithereens from 50 meters away. Sey'les could probably snarl and rip NL-572 apart with her bare hands in an adrenaline-induced rage if she had to, but something about NL-572's creepy yellow eye, six arms, two legs, and red-black paint scheme gave her nightmares.

The last two days however had plagued Sey'les with completely new nightmares, far more serious nightmares.

As Sey'les approached her quarters she swore under her breath.

 _Kriff._ For some reason, Master Stass Allie was knocking on Sey'les's door. _Why don't they ever know? That knocking is so annoying._

"I know you are in there. I can sense three of you," Allie said sternly. "I am here to do a wellness check on Sey'les. Open the door and tell me where she is, or I will call—oh hi Sey'les." Allie spun around as Sey'les approached before Sey'les could say a word.

"Exercising?"

"Uh, no ma'am," Sey'les said as she scratched her twirling neck fur nervously. "I needed to go to the laundry room." She walked up to Stass Allie.

 _This is not going to look good,_ Sey'les thought. _How do I stall Master Allie and stop her from seeing Wulf, Fenron, and Cas hung over and sleeping in my room? How do I even explain this? I am holding a cleaning unit. Ugh KRIFF! I need to tell the truth._

"We drank last night, Master," Sey'les admitted suddenly, and began entering her code into the terminal _._

"I gathered as much Agent," Allie replied.

As Sey'les's door opened, the smell of vomit emanated into the hallway.

Sey'les dry-heaved a little bit and Stass Allie gasped in shock.

"Oh dear," Stass Allie said. She entered the room and looked around angrily. "Sey'les, you are a team leader. This—"

"—I am sorry Master," Sey'les interrupted. "Things got a little out of hand ma'am. I was planning on throwing a party before… before my team died…" she paused sadly.

"Agent. You cannot use the tragedy on Antar 4 to excuse every irresponsible thing you do. I know you all suffered a great loss but… gah!" Allie clearly had hit her limit. She levitated all three of the sleeping Judicials a few centimetres into the air, and then dropped them.

Fenron and Cas landed on Sey'les's hard floor and woke up sputtering. On impact, Wulf bounced on Sey'les's bed.

"Ugh… Master Jedi?" Wulf groaned.

"Agents, wake up!" Stas Allie said. "I am ordering all of you to do mandatory counselling for the next four weeks after we return to Coruscant; this will be available whether you leave the Judicial Forces or not and if you stay in the Judicial Forces or join the Navy, it is mandatory."

"Counselling?" Sey'les asked in even more surprise.

"Yes Agent, counselling. All of you are to report to my quarters on deck twelve at 0900 hours."

"Your quarters Master?!" Cas asked completely baffled.

"Yes, my quarters," Stass Allie said sternly, then walked away.

"Wha—what is going on Sey'les?" Wulf asked.

"You slept in my bed and vomited on my boots!" Sey'les snarled.

Fenron started laughing.

"Clean. It. Up," Sey'les snarled as she handed him her cleaning unit.

"Why was Master Allie here?" Cas asked.

"Apparently everyone on the ship thinks I am about to kill myself," Sey'les snapped. Her fur stood on end. "By proxy, you guys just started looking like you need counselling too."

"I am sure that's not what's really going on Sey'les. I did not think you were going to kill yourself. I was just worried about you," Cas said.

Sey'les sighed.

Wulf turned Sey'les's bed magnets off, then pulled the bed across the floor with a slight strain. Crouched down, he ran the cleaning unit over the spot he had vomited on.

Fenron ran his hand over a spot on his neck, wincing. "Remind me to never sleep up against a wall again."

Cas sighed. "Kriff," she muttered as her datapad started chiming. She answered it.

"Vera, honey, I've been trying to reach you all night. You said you would call me after the memorial. I know you are all sad about what happened, it's all over the news, but I am worried about you," a male voice Sey'les had never heard said.

"Sorry Wyatt, is anything wrong with Travis?"

"No, Travis is doing all right, but I've been worried and—have you been drinking?!" Wyatt asked in alarm.

"Yeah, Fenron—"

"You've been drinking with Fenron? What—"

"—let me finish," Cas interrupted calmly, "Fenron, Archard and I were drinking with Sey'les—"

"Sey'les? You drank with that crazy Wookiee?"

"Wookiee?" Sey'les asked with a scowl.

Wulf roared with croaky dehydrated morning laughter, almost doubling over while holding the cleaning unit.

"That is Sey'les," Cas sighed. "She is right here honey," she said as she angled her camera to Sey'les.

Sey'les looked back at the screen. _It is way too early for this._

"That doesn't look like a Wookiee! I didn't know any Wookiees could speak basic!" Wyatt yelled in alarm.

"I'm not a Wookiee," Sey'les said sternly.

"I said she was 'like a crazy Wookiee,' not that she actually was a Wookiee," Cas said nervously.

"Like a Wookiee?" Sey'les demanded.

"Uh hello there Sey'les," Wyatt, a plump human male wearing a black sweater said nervously. It was raining on the cityscape of Coruscant behind him. "It is nice to finally meet you."

"Hello, Wyatt. No, I am not a Wookiee for your informa—"

"—Sey'les, please," Cas pleaded, "I am sorry for comparing you to a Wookiee. Can I just talk to my husband?"

Sey'les sighed. "Sure," she croaked.

"In Sey'les's defense Cas," Wyatt said with a chuckle, "she does not look like a Wookiee at all. I have never seen a black, grey, and white Wookiee and she has a snout."

"I know," Cas replied. "She is just…" Cas winced looking at Sey'les nervously. "She acts really crazy. Come on! You do Sey'les! You are a team leader and I just woke up drunk on your floor for crying out loud. There is a poster on the wall of you. You have a poster, _a damn poster_ , of yourself on the wall! I like you, I really do, but you act really crazy and do crazy things."

"Drunk on Sey'les's floor?" Wyatt asked with renewed alarm.

"I am sorry," Sey'les sighed.

"It is kind of weird to have a poster of yourself Sey'les," Wulf commented with a smirk.

 _It is way too early for this._ "I am going to take a shower and dry off once you guys excuse yourselves from my room," Sey'les said, folding her arms.

"Sorry Sey'les," Fenron and said as he walked out.

"Sorry for vomiting on your boots again," Wulf said and handed Sey'les the cleaning unit.

"I will see you all in counselling I suppose," Sey'les sighed.

"Counselling?" Wyatt asked again in his alarmed voice.

"It's a long story Wyatt, but we have counselling at 0900 with the Jedi Master who rescued us," Cas said into her terminal, then turned to face Sey'les. "See you later Sey'les," Cas said.

After her doors closed, Sey'les disrobed and hopped into her shower.

* * *

Now having dressed in her blue Judicial working uniform, breakfast was fairly uneventful. The Nuna bacon smell and smell of other burned meats made Sey'les shudder a little bit, but she no longer felt queasy. _There is no way I am ever eating that again._

Hrelduussk was seated at a large eight-chaired table with Shosseth and their kids. Hrelduussk waved to Sey'les with a fairly neutral expression on his face.

Sey'les scowled for a moment then waved back. _It is too early to deal with Trandoshans_ , she thought as she approached the buffet. Sey'les picked some mixed fruit with her tongs, Ghoba rice, Anoat oats, and poured Bith bean milk onto the Anoat oats and Ghoba rice. Finishing that, she poured herself a cup of caf and added some Bith bean milk to it.

Hrelduussk was motioning for her to come over more insistently.

Approaching Hrelduussk's table, Sey'les took a seat. "Hi everyone," she said with an attempt at a smile.

"Hey Sey'les," Yasska, Drenk and Krisss said excitedly.

"How are you doing?" Shosseth asked.

"Better," Sey'les said truthfully. "How about all of you?"

"I am glad you helped us get off the planet before that mess happened," Hrelduussk hissed.

 _You could say thank you,_ Sey'les thought again with annoyance."Did you… did you guys lose any friends on Antar 4?" Sey'les asked in a sad voice.

"I am sure I did," Hrelduussk hissed casually.

Sey'les blinked in shock and began wondering, again, whether or not Hrelduussk could feel empathy. _He really does not care._

"I contacted some of my friends and the parents of Yasska, Krisss and Drenk's friends, they all seemed to have made it," Shosseth said.

Archard entered the mess hall. "Is it all right if Archard sits here?" Sey'les asked.

"Sure," Shosseth replied.

Hrelduussk scowled angrily.

"Hey Archard!" Sey'les said.

"Hey Sey'les, I'll be over in a second," Archard said as he walked to the buffet.

The Trandoshans would bite into some tough piece of burnt meat or fruit and nearly swallowed it whole, sticking their heads up to the roof. Sey'les had to consciously force herself to keep a straight face and not open her snout in shock at their table manners.

Archard took a seat at the table and introduced himself.

While everyone was introducing themselves, Sey'les thought of Cas's husband worrying about her this morning and pulled out her datapad. Navigating to the 'AgkapatidNet/АгкапатидНэт' _FamilyNet_ icon, she clicked on it. She had received 143 messages in the last three days, a few in Basic, most in Bothese. A few were from her mother and five siblings, but most were from her cousins. Apparently, the casualty list had been leaked so her relatives knew she was alive but were worried about her and wondering when she was coming back.

Sey'les decided to just drop a general announcement on the page. She started typing whatever came to mind at first, but then began divulging information more strategically:

АгкапатидНэт

 **Ђікойу усўу пар корм агкатраў. Жия ко. Жия ко, крађ фула ко корн траў ат анго. Аг-зика мо па Ўолф. Эрз па Ўолф па Арденск 'друз мо, пан** **a** **н аг-тађоя ко усўу. Пода ко ђана, крађ і оўа до корн Ас** **o** **нт.**

**"Thank you for the sympathy. I am alive, but I feel sad and angry. Wulf saved me. Wulf is my Ardennian friend whom I previously told you about. I can call, but when I return to Coruscant."**

Mentioning Wulf was strategic. She had actually never mentioned Wulf before, but wanted to make her family feel guilty about having forgotten him. As Sey'les thought more about Wulf, she realised she had feelings for him. Dropping his name to her family and Clan, as someone who had saved her, would potentially make a future relationship less awkward. Of course, Sey'les was nowhere near accepting Wulf as a partner, nor telling him, and she had no idea what the Ardennian would say.

Sey'les thought of telling them more specifics but thought better of it. It would probably only worry them more to hear about she contracted a serious infection and got burns all over her body. Despite her strategic disclosure of details, she was completely oblivious as to how vague and puzzling her message might sound to her relatives, most of whom probably had only ever seen humans on the HoloNet, and most of whom had probably never seen an Ardennian on any sort of media.

The Trandoshan brats were making annoying noises. Krisss started playing with her patchy mane-like head-hair. Sey'les ignored it and continued typing.

There was something more on Sey'les's mind that she had been mulling over and wanted to ask another Bothan about. However, most of Sey'les's family, who resided in a rural polar region, repaired infrastructure or mined graphite in the summer and sustained themselves through ice fishing in the winter. She was the only one who had ever done a career that was particularly… martial.

She had been deployed on many peacekeeping missions in the Mid Rim but had never dealt with this type of warfare. The more she pondered it, the more it disgusted her. Even if the Gotal Assembly successfully terrorised enough people and Antar 4 joined the Separatists, they had done so much damage to their own planet that it couldn't possibly be worth winning.

The Gotal Assembly terrorists were not even sacrificing themselves to save others. Sey'les did not understand how beings could do these actions that did not benefit themselves, did not benefit their loved ones, unless they were perhaps suicidal. Self-benefit was the foundation of the Bothan Way.

Sey'les realised her face was in an angry scowl and straightened it. Her thoughts shifted to Wulf again. _Seriously, is all it took for me to have feelings for him that stupid pick up line? 'I like the way Bothans smell?'_

_No, I probably had feelings before but didn't notice or want to pursue them. Besides, he is my subordinate. I don't want to do anything yet. Probably not until this—_

"—Sey'les?" Wulf asked.

Sey'les jumped. "Sorry I was thinking. Wha—? When did you get here?"

Archard and Wulf started laughing.

_I didn't even realise I could smell him, yet I was thinking about him. Weird._

"I sat down ten seconds ago," Wulf said before stuffing a whole hard boiled Garto egg into his mouth and crunching it, shell included.

Archard looked like he was disturbed by this.

"Wulf, we're not starving out in the field, you don't need to eat like that," Sey'les said sternly.

"Sorry," Wulf mumbled. The egg smell became much stronger as he talked. "I didn't mean to offend."

"You will probably want to brush your teeth again before counselling," Sey'les mumbled.

"Counselling?" Archard asked.

"Oh yeah, you missed it!" Wulf said. "Master Allie came by to do a wellness check on Sey'les and found us all, well, sleeping in her room with beer stains on our uniforms." Wulf sounded proud.

Archard gasped.

Sey'les looked around the room to make sure Stass Allie was not nearby. "I suspect Master Allie is going to try some group therapy mumbo jumbo or something. I am not—"

"—Sey'les," Hrelduussk interrupted. "We were jussst talking about you and—"

"—you were?!" Sey'les growled.

"No, not in a bad way," Shosseth hissed consolingly.

"We were wondering if you wanted to drop all of this kr—" Hrelduussk looked at his kids and stopped himself from swearing.

Shosseth was flashing her sharp teeth and looked like she might literally bite Hrelduussk's head.

"—stuff," he added nervously. "Drop this ssstuff, stop being used as a pawn in some political game and move with us to Trandosha. The kids all like you, I like you, Shosseth likes you…"

Archard looked shocked but also amused.

Wulf dropped his fork onto his plate and looked tense. His four hands folded into fists and he was clearly getting into fight mode—preparing to potentially fight off some Trandoshans to stop a Bothan abduction.

Sey'les blinked twice. Her fur fell flat against her body and her snout dropped open in shock. _What the kriff?!_ "Thanks for the offer, but I think I am going to pass on that one. I am sorry, but at this stage in my life, I am not willing to just drop everything." _And I would only consider it if Trandosha was the very last place in the Galaxy with water and air. And sure? In that case, I'd move in with you and your brats Hrelduussk because I'd be worried every other lizard on the planet thought of me as a sssnack._

"All right, well, we are sssorry to hear that," Shosseth said sadly.

"I am sorry. I am not refusing because of you, Hrelduussk, or your kids," Sey'les said. "I am still willing to help you get to Trandosha if the Republic doesn't come through," she added. "I'll even try visit you guys there one day, I promise. It might be hard for you to leave though with the Wookiee Blockade and all. I would really suggest… Coruscant. It's All Species Week soon and there will be some Trandoshan stuff for sure."

"We want to go back to Trandosha," Hrelduussk said sternly.

"All right, I know, you told Byno Doubton that too," Sey'les sighed.

Archard collected himself, and started in a cautious diplomatic tone, "I think what Sey'les wants to say is—"

"—I get it," Hrelduussk hissed angrily. "We are going up to the lounge, see you later," Hrelduussk hissed.

"See you," Shosseth and the kids added.

"See you," Sey'les said in a somewhat sad and guilty tone.

After Hrelduussk and Shosseth left the doorway Wulf started, "What the kriff was—"

"—SHHHH" Sey'les hissed sharply. She listened until the Trandoshan's footsteps were no longer in hearing range. "Okay, now we can talk. What was that?" Sey'les asked.

"Holy shassa that was weird!" Wulf yelled putting two of his arms up to his head and pulling on his fur in amazement.

"I suspect Hrelduussk was hitting on you," Archard said in a hushed tone.

"WHAT?! Right in front of Shosseth?" Sey'les whisper-yelled, her eyes went wide.

"Well, I should say, I think Shosseth and Hrelduussk were hitting on you. Trandoshans are polygamous," Archard explained matter of factly.

"EEEWW!" Sey'les snarled. "That's so kriffing weird."

"Well, the Galaxy is a big diverse place," Archard said in a neutral tone before taking a bite of Anoat oats.

Wulf started bursting out laughing. "Those lizards probably think of you as a small furry heat pad!" he exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Sey'les whispered "keep your voice down!"

"Sorry Sey'les," Wulf said between hysterical laughs.

"You know? You might be right Wulf. Trandosha is further from their sun than Kashyyyk is. The polar parts of Trandosha even get snow," Archard added, clearly deep in thought.

"Ugh," Sey'les sighed. "I still don't get why they thought I would say yes. I don't think I gave any indication of wanting to become a part of their… Family? Brood?"

"Maybe it's something we can talk about in therapy," Wulf snickered.

Sey'les ignored Wulf's comment. "Let's check on Hashtivar. We still have an hour before we have to visit Stass Allie."

"Can I come too?" Archard asked.

"Sure."

* * *

"Hashtivar is paralysed from the chest down," the medical droid said in a grave robotic voice to the crowd assembled around Hashtivar's bed. The rest of the grey and white sickbay room was empty.

"Calm down doc. They all knew that was going to happen," Hashtivar said cynically from his bed, drinking a glass of water. "All of them except for that human medic, that is. You don't recover from having a piece of your spine burn away."

Hashtivar was lying on his back in a specialised bed with a hole for his shell. The Bacta had healed his facial burns but it was heavily scarred.

"Otherwise, Hashtivar, how have you been?" Sey'les asked.

"Honestly, hit and miss. If I lie on my stomach, which is more comfortable, the bad fluids don't drain out of my shell. Lying on my back though makes mucus build up in my lungs if I lay still for too long and—" Hashtivar interrupted himself, grabbing a remote, "—I have to adjust my bed up and down. The pain killers are definitely making my burns tolerable though. What have you two been up to since they brought you out of the Bacta, and, the human? What are you doing here…?

"Archard," Archard answered. "We've met. I was there too that night and I thought I would come and see how you are doing. I know we don't really know each other but, well, it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Well, thanks for caring I suppose," Hashtivar said bluntly.

"To answer your question," Wulf piped up with an awkward chuckle, "we had a memorial yesterday, then Sey'les dragged a whole keg of Adumari beer up to her room and—"

—Hashtivar started laughing so loudly that Wulf could not continue.

"We drank," Sey'les growled in a testy tone once Hashtivar had stopped laughing. "Also, the humans drank with us."

"And, we all observed that Adumari beer smells like Bothans," Wulf added roaring with laughter.

"Yeah, and there's more embarrassing stuff you did next Wulf," Sey'les snarled. "Why don't you tell them about the part where you slept in my bed?"

Hashtivar gasped.

Archard started roaring with laughter.

"Not... not like that," Wulf said nervously scratching his neck, clearly wanting to avoid talking about the next part where he vomited.

"Doesn't…" Hashtivar paused awkwardly, "doesn't sleeping together require both of you to agree Sey'les?"

Sey'les realised the medical droid was staring at them and turned to face him. "Don't you have some empty beds to straighten?" she snarled.

"No Agent. Unless someone else becomes ill or injured, that is. Hashtivar is my only patient and I am caught up in my work. Sey'les, Wulf, if you continue exciting my patient too much though, I am going to have to ask you leave."

"I am sorry," Sey'les sighed.

"Okay, calmly explain then," Archard said after controlling his laughs. "I missed this part!"

"Wulf," Sey'les took a deep breath and forced her voice to be neutral and calm. "After agreeing that I smelled like Adumari beer, Wulf slept with me—but with pants on, so as he said—not like that, but then he vomited into my boots."

Wulf winced awkwardly.

Hashtivar started laughing hard again. After a few seconds he coughed up phlegm and started coughing hard.

"Sorry Hashtivar," Sey'les winced.

"Well," Hashtivar gasped. "It sounds like you, including the humans, have all managed to have a crazy time. I'll admit, the human part surprises me."

"Sey'les, Wulf," the medical droid said sternly suddenly re-entering the conversation. "I told you both not to consume alcohol for the first week of your recovery. It dehydrates you. Your bodies are still recovering from second degree burns. Your kidneys might even still be processing the medications you were given when you were in Bacta. Not only did you disobey my orders, but Wulf became so inebriated that he vomited."

Sey'les sighed "I am sorry doc, I—"

"—if I hear of either of you drinking alcohol again, I am going to confine you both to sickbay and keep you under medical observation."

At first the thought terrified Sey'les, but then she realised she was only going to be on the ship for another day before returning to Coruscant. "All right doc," Sey'les said calmly.

After no one said anything for a few seconds, Wulf added, "and we are going to Counselling. Master Allie did a wellness check on Sey'les and found us all hung over in her room."

Hashtivar chuckled a little bit. "She didn't even ask me to go to counselling!"

"Can you even leave sickbay?" Archard asked curiously.

"No," Hashtivar admitted. "Good point."

* * *

The four Agents were seated on comfortable chairs arranged in a circle, with Stass Allie at the head of the circle. The Jedi's room was one of the _Judicator's_ larger suites designed for dignitaries.

"Now, I want the focus of this to be more on how what happened on Antar 4 is affecting you all, as opposed to reliving it, but we can talk about what happened to. If you are not comfortable talking about this, you don't have to," Stass Allie paused and looked around the room at Cas, Sey'les, Fenron, and Wulf. "However, hopefully what you tell me today can help your counsellor once we get back to Coruscant. I want you to know and be certain that you are not alone in being affected by this. You were all there. Consuming alcohol won't actually help—"

"—respectfully, Master, we weren't drinking because we were sad," Sey'les interjected.

"We weren't?" Cas asked in an unironic question.

"No, don't you remember my explanation?" Sey'les growled cautiously.

Fenron began laughing a little bit.

"Agent Fenron," Allie said sternly, "we aren't going to laugh at each other or tease anyone in this session."

"Sorry ma'am," he replied quickly.

"We were celebrating ma'am," Sey'les sighed.

"Celebrating?!" Allie asked in alarmed voice.

"Well, I planned it all before the mission. Originally, I was going to throw a party for Team Muun in my quarters as I always do—"

"—always?" Allie asked interrogatively.

"Yes, always Master. This isn't the Jedi Temple. It's not forbidden for Judicials to have fun," Sey'les growled. "Anyways, after I took command of Team Aurek, I felt like the humans were a part of my team, so then I planned on inviting them, but, when I got to my quarters, they were worried about me because I left the memorial early."

"And why did you leave the memorial early?" Allie asked, changing the topic more to she wanted to pursue.

"Well," Sey'les gulped and held her snout tight for a second. She closed her eyes and added finally, "Savit's voice."

"So, you were reminded very strongly of the event, of someone you cared about who died, and had a reaction?" Allie asked.

"Yes," Sey'les sighed looking down at the floor.

"This is completely normal and perfectly okay, Sey'les. Even Jedi experience this. Has anyone else experienced things like this since that night?"

"I felt like it was difficult to breathe when I heard Savit's voice," Fenron admitted in a mumble. "I had to tune it out and focus on other things, or else, I felt like I might, break down," he added and moved his jaw around as if worried his mouth might go dry.

"It sounds stupid. Whenever I open my Bacta creams, I feel afraid that I am missing something. I panic and go back to my quarters looking for things," Cas croaked. "Last night I managed to drink myself to sleep but the night prior I wound up staying up all night researching alien anatomy."

"That doesn't sound stupid. Why do you think that might be?" Allie asked curiously.

"I feel like I should have been able to help Sey'les, Wulf, and Hashtivar better than I did," Cas said.

"You helped us just fine! We survived," Wulf exclaimed.

"Yeah Cas, there are thousands of sentient species. You aren't a medical droid," Sey'les said.

"And, this is also normal," Allie interjected. "Going back over the event after being reminded of it and thinking of things you should have known or could have done differently." She paused for a moment, then turned. "Wulf, have you been experiencing any of these things?"

"I haven't been getting any… flashbacks or reminders so much," Wulf sighed. "Regret," Wulf admitted in a soft voice. "I explained this to Sey'les, but I feel... it's all kriffed up. I feel shassy for not hoisting Sey'les and Hashtivar higher—that I did not throw a smoke bomb into the lasers sooner, that I didn't think on my feet fast enough."

Sey'les winced for a moment expecting Master Stass Allie to become upset with Wulf's swearing. She didn't. _Phew._

"It is good that you thought of it at all," Allie said consolingly. "From what I heard, the lasers were not what was attacking you directly Wulf. You were probably much more focused on the plasma beams. The fact you thought of it at all is why you, Sey'les, and Hashtivar are alive."

"Cas?" Allie asked suddenly.

"Yes?"

"You said you were experiencing difficulty sleeping. This is also to be expected. Have any of the rest of you been experiencing difficulty sleeping?"

"No," Wulf said with an Ardennian shrug.

"I find it more difficult than usual," Fenron said. "I keep feeling like I am constantly being watched. With the exception of last night, when I slept in a room with Cas, Wulf, and Sey'les, I have had to turn…" Fenron paused as if afraid to admit the rest. "Turn the lights on at night."

Sey'les smirked on one side of her snout. _Hmmm… Our party last night seems to have been great for everyone. Cas slept easily, Fenron slept easily. I think I am better at this stuff than—_

"—Sey'les? Sey'les are you with us?" Allie asked.

Sey'les blinked and shook her face. "Sorry Master."

"Have you had any similar problems sleeping?" Allie asked.

Sey'les sighed. Her fur swirled slowly with guilt. She actually felt guilty about nothaving difficulty sleeping. "Well, to be honest, I feel bad about this, but no. I haven't had any difficulty sleeping."

"That's okay Sey'les," Allie said consolingly, adding notes to her datapad. "Bothans might also experience trauma differently from humans. The same could be true of Ardennians, Wulf. There is not a lot of literature out there on this I have access to. Sey'les, have you had any irregular things going on with your sleep? Dreams?"

"Oh yeah!" Sey'les exclaimed with wide eyes. "I almost forgot. The last two nights I had weird nightmares. I figured, the theme in common with them is my snout getting pinched or not being able to move. Also smell. My smell is much more vivid in these dreams than normally, and I feel much more… hmmm emotional? Much more emotional about the smells."

"More vivid smells than normally as in real life normally?" Allie asked, adding more notes.

"No, I mean…" Sey'les looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Smells are more vivid in these dreams than they normally are in dreams. Especially burning smells. I have been avoiding cooked meat entirely. The first day, well this is real life again Master, but the first day I woke from Bacta I couldn't even be in the same room as cooked meat." Sey'les gulped, then continued, "when Weequi and Nor were… when they died, they smelled like Nuna Bacon."

"I could see why that would be very difficult for you. I admit though, that I have never had a similar reaction to smell," Allie responded. "Does it make you feel nauseous?"

"Sometimes," Sey'les said.

"I would suggest talking to the medical droid about that, and your counsellor once we get to Coruscant," Allie paused then asked "Back to the topic of sleep, when you have these dreams you said you were not able to move. Did you feel like you were awake and paralysed during these occurrences?"

Sey'les thought about it for a second, then answered, "No Master, only not able to move in my dreams. The one I had last night was very strange. I haven't spoken Bothese or been to Bothawui in years, but I dreamed I was there. I smelled and saw Bothans I have never smelled before and saw—well it was very weird, and I don't want to take up time for everyone else to talk."

"It is fine Sey'les," Allie said. "We still have forty minutes."

Wulf groaned.

Allie sighed, "Wulf, your attitude is—"

"—well as I was saying, ma'am," Sey'les strategically interrupted to save Wulf. "I was back in Bothan space. I seemed to be wearing a Bothan Marine uniform, but I have never been a Bothan marine—or at least, my sleeves were brown, tan, and red-orange so I think I was wearing one," she paused looking up at the ceiling. "Most of the Bothans smelled like they were one of the Bothawui-4 Clans, but I didn't recognise anyone. There was a general who seemed to be a member of the Clan Alya wearing a blue Marshalcy uniform—"

"—Marshalcy?" Allie interrupted curiously.

"It's like… a hybrid-military police branch that has jurisdiction over all of the Bothan planets. Kind of like us Judicials actually," Sey'les explained. "Anyways, what happened next is the nightmare part. Six beings entered the room. One was well…" Sey'les winced awkwardly, "Master Suldor, one was a Chagrian—"

"You had a nightmare about Suldor?!" Allie exclaimed.

"Well, he was a part of it," Sey'les sighed. "The other three beings who entered were humans wearing uniforms. There was another guy who… well I could smell he was human, but he was dressed in a scary face mask. Suldor pinched my snout, like he did before, but harder, and the scary—"

"Before? Suldor pinched your snout?" Allie gasped.

Sey'les gulped. _Ahhhh kriff. Here come the insubordination—_

"—HE WHAT?!" Wulf yelled.

Cas gasped.

"Well, me and—someone else," Sey'les croaked, not wanting to bring Hrelduussk into this mess, "we teased, well, another someone else, and Suldor pinched our snouts with the force."

"Sey'les, this is serious," Allie sighed. "I would have made this session one on one for confidentiality if I knew this was going to happen."

Sey'les looked around the room nervously.

"I think he and Master Tursk also might have mind-tricked most of you guys," Fenron mumbled.

"What?!" Allie asked in a near yell.

Cas gasped again.

Sey'les opened her snout in surprise. _Well, this is new._

"When Sey'les…" Fenron winced looking at Sey'les.

 _Oh kriff! It's about me again!_ Sey'les's fell flat and pressed into her in fear.

Fenron continued nervously. "When Sey'les interrupted Master Suldor and Master Tursk's briefing and the crowd became restless, Master Suldor and Master Tursk waved their hands and instructed everyone to focus. It didn't affect me but well," Fenron scratched the back of his neck, "afterwards everyone was very focused. Later, a very strange thing happened. It seemed like everyone was staring too hard so Suldor told all of 'the mammals,' to use his words, to blink."

"HOLY SHASSA!" Wulf yelled. "I've been often thinking about being a mammal for days!"

Cas sat back in her chair and sighed. "I saw that too! So that's what happened? Rigel did seem really weird and so did most of the Antarians! Wow! I mean, I thought that might have been what happened, but I wasn't sure."

Sey'les put her hands on her head and started tugging her fur in frustration. "Master, honestly I did not know about most of this. I am sorry I was insubordinate—"

"—that may be Sey'les, but Suldor should have just reprimanded you. The fact you were insubordinate does not him Suldor an excuse to assault you. To assault any of you."

Sey'les exhaled through her nose in frustration. Things were going fine until she had to tell everyone about Suldor. Now everyone looked so distressed, even Master Allie.

"I am sorry Master. I did not want to upset everyone," Sey'les sighed.

"Sey'les. I am not mad at you, but you should have told someone before this. The same goes to you Fenron," Allie said sternly.

"I am sorry ma'am," Fenron sighed. "It seemed messed up at the time, but not like a huge issue," he explained.

"Yeah, Master Allie, I don't really feel 'assaulted' to be honest," Sey'les said firmly.

"That may be, but the fact remains…" Allie paused, "I am sorry I have distressed you all. I will tell the Jedi Council of this, but I won't mention any of your names unless you want me to. That would be unethical. We should have had this confidential in the first place."

Fenron and Sey'les both let off sighs of relief.

Cas's face was still in complete surprise since Fenron's revelation.

Wulf looked like he had an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Sey'les still wanted to talk about her dream. "Regarding my dream—"

"—Agent, I am pretty sure your dreams have something to do with Suldor hurting you. I wouldn't read too much into them if I were you. I do sense… something about you Sey'les but well, I don't want to go into that either."

 _Sense what?!_ Sey'les thought with alarm. "Master, if you think something's wrong with me, couldn't you like… do some force thing? I also feel like my dream was something more than a dream. Is there a way you could perform a mind-probe or something?"

"A mind-probe?!" Allie asked in alarm. "Did Master Suldor also mind-probe you Sey'les?"

"No ma'am," Sey'les answered. "Once when I was leading Team Muun under Master Vos, he performed one on a human smuggler we had captured."

"Good," Allie sighed in relief. "Sey'les, I am not trained in performing mind-probes. If you were human or near-human, maybe a Jedi would be willing to. If I were a Bothan, maybe. A mind-probe is very invasive. Your brain and mind are, no doubt, very different from a human or near-human brain like mine. Performing a mind-probe on you would be, frankly, extremely dangerous and irresponsible. I think your dream was just a dream Sey'les."


	29. Itoll Oc'nel

Alpheridies

"Jazal! Be gentler!" Oc'nel winced. His headache was terrible. It felt like her fingers were rubbing on his brain.

"Sorry Itoll. This is very interesting," she said in an awed voice.

Despite being very aware that Jazal's hand was on the side of his face, Oc'nel felt like Jazal had stuck her fingers onto his head right between his snout and his eyes. His eyes were watering, and he could not open them. Suddenly he felt a wave of embarrassment and his fur began rippling and swirling.

"So that's… embarrassment. Interesting. It waves in the opposite direction as guilt, a bit like nervousness. It seems like most of your emotion centres are not only connected to your Olfactory Node like a human, but they are actually IN your Olfactory Node!"

"Uh… what…" Oc'nel gasped.

"Gah! I wish this was an accepted scientific methodology that non-Force users could understand. This fact, Itoll… It explains how Bothans are sentient!"

"What?!" he asked annoyed and offended.

"Haha, didn't have to poke your olfactory centre to get the hair swirl for annoyance," Jazal chuckled. "Itoll, no offense, but you Bothans have small brains. They are very wrinkled increasing the surface area, but theoretical models have shown that well… your brains shouldn't make you as smart as they do. Your brains are even smaller than a Gungan's and about as wrinkled, yet Bothans have much higher intelligence than a Gungan on average. We—you and I—just discovered that most, if not all, of your emotion centres are actually in the part of your brain we—the scientific community—thought was just for smelling! This means?"

"Ugh… That we'll be moving away from my smelling part of the brain?" Oc'nel groaned.

"Yes, and that this is not just your big sniffy sniffy part of the brain. It has other functions," Jazal said playfully as she pinched his nose with her free hand. "This makes your brain much bigger than a Gungan's if we count your Olfactory Node as part of the brain. It's actually silly that we didn't, now that I think about it."

"Please move on to the other parts of my brain," Oc'nel moaned. "This is driving me crazy Jazal. You said you could let me probe your mind too?"

"I said you might be able to. Not everyone can. We'll try that tomorrow, today I am giving you practice getting your—"

"—literally mind-kriffed?" Oc'nel growled exasperatedly. "I am pretty sure Bothans scientists figured out our own brains Jazal. You just have to learn Bothese to read our medicine."

His headache subsided and he could finally open his eyes. Jazal was somehow holding his head still, he supposed she must be using the force, but he could look around the room with his one good eye.

"Relax. See? It's way less painful when you relax," Jazal said soothingly. "And I intend to learn Bothese. If we do this enough, eventually mind-probes won't even hurt. Most of the time, when I do this, I focus on memories. You're still okay with me trying to probe some of your memories?"

"How many memories could you probe?" Oc'nel asked curiously.

"I don't know to be honest. Not very many. I am not a droid. There is a fixed amount of information my brain can possibly process at once, just like you, my cute little Bothan."

"Little? I am tall for a Bothan," Oc'nel growled. He added more nervously. "I guess well, what type of memory do you want to see Jazal?"

"I suppose… well, how is it that you came to work for the Judicial Corps and ended up in my room?" Jazal asked.

His fur twirled with suspicion. "Fine," Oc'nel said. "The first part is not pretty though."

* * *

Oc'nel was back on Botha'ahir, under the dome. He was driving his tiny cube-shaped 1.5 meter-wide, four-seater navy-blue speeder. A TW-2 model R. Seated in the passenger seat was Zrask Oc'nel, Itoll's father. He was old, mostly grey furred, and had a patch of white fur on the left side of his face surrounding his blue eye. His right eye was brown, unlike Itoll Oc'nel's.

" _Kor yas, pa Itoll?_ _Nokiz ko podo beliya yag pomonta woks do korn Bothawui."_ [The truth, Itoll? I cannot believe you are going to Bothawui,] Zrask said cynically as he gestured through Oc'nel's windshield to the red-stained dusty dome roof above the city.

"Itoll," Jazal said gently.

"What?" Oc'nel asked. He snapped out of the memory, blinked a few times, then looked up at Jazal.

"I can't speak Bothese."

"I knew that but… what? You can't even understand it in my memory?" Oc'nel asked in alarm.

"Nope," Jazal admitted. She sounded embarrassed and foolish for the first time Oc'nel could remember.

"Alrighty then," Oc'nel said feeling a little cocky. _Even if someone wanted to steal my memories of conversations, they would have to speak Bothese!_ "Well, what's going on is basically, Botha'ahir submitted itself to the governance of the Bothan Council, lifted the sanctions. A year earlier, my brother Klaes had defected to Clan Askar from Botha'ahir so my dad was sad that I was leaving too. I was one of the only three Botha'ahir Bothans who was in the first batch of—"

"You can drive at age fifteen on Botha'ahir?" Jazal asked curiously.

_I did not tell her my age in this memory_ , Oc'nel thought with surprise. "Sure. Actually, age fourteen is when you can. Funnily, I didn't think of the rules on Bothawui though. When I brought my speeder to Bothawui, I had to lock it up in storage for another year."

"Okay Itoll, you are chatting too much. I want you to show me… maybe show me arriving off-world for the first time."

"Alright, in the memory I am about to show you, we, the two rebellious Onels and a Tannen who dared leave Botha'ahir, and General Yus Ata'nel are landing," Oc'nel explained.

He was now on the transport descending to the Bothan Martial Academy. General Ata'nel was going to be the first Onel teacher at the academy.

All of the Bothans except for Ata'nel looked extremely nervous. The seated grey furred Ata'nel, however, stared forth confidently with his one amber eye and one solidly blue eye.

"Wait?! Out of the three others, two of you have Heterochromia!" Jazal exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh yeah, most Clan Onel Bothans and half of Clan Tannen Bothans have it. Some of the Polar and Sub-Polar Bothawui Bothans do too. I have it myself," Oc'nel explained as he showed Jazal his reflection in a mirror.

"Huh," Jazal said. "Somehow, I never imagined your face looked like that. You are handsomer than I expected, that eye looks—"

"—Yeah, I am definitely going to get a new eye that is light blue. My favourite eye is the blue one," Oc'nel said with a smile. "But anyways… out of the four of us, including the General, all were Marines actually."

"Marines? As children?" Jazal asked, unable to hide her feelings towards the practice of employing children as soldiers.

"Oh yeah, actually, I joined when I was fifteen…" Oc'nel paused. _I can show Jazal this._

Oc'nel shifted to memory of 1.1 g detonator training. He and eleven other recruits were wearing RIS training armour, which was unpowered and did not have a built-in filter so smells could get in freely. They were in a dim dust-covered training dome set to 1.1 g, or roughly Bothawui gravity. There were targets off in the distance riddled with slugthrower holes.

Ata'nel, who was a Colonel at the time, was inspecting the training of all new recruits by the sergeant.

One of the recruits, a Bothan female by the name of Tanya Lon'tannen, stepped forth and threw her thermal detonator at the training bunker. The training bunker was a simple pillbox-shaped cement structure poking out of the red iron-smelling soil in the dome. Lon'tannen threw the detonator with impressive force, using the proper technique, however she threw it very inaccurately. It bounced off the top of the pillbox, rebounded three meters, and then rolled back towards the group of recruits.

Most of the recruits immediately dove for cover and so did the sergeant, but Lon'tannen and Oc'nel froze in terror.

_Kriff I am going to die!_ Oc'nel thought and foolishly closed his eyes.

Ata'nel snarled _"_ _Nųkhįz_ _!"_ [No!] and tackled Oc'nel and Lon'tannen, roughly shoving them into the red dirt and laying on top of them with his body.

Oc'nel curiously lifted his head, which was now under Ata'nel's armpit, and looked towards the detonator. His blue RIS armour snout was covered in red dirt.

The detonator exploded with a blinding light and a deafening roar shaking the ground. Shrapnel landed all around them, but fortunately, no one was hurt.

Ata'nel got up from on top of Oc'nel and Lon'tannen and started snarling angrily at the sergeant.

Back on Jazal's bed, Oc'nel started laughing uncontrollably with one of Jazal's hands holding his head still, but his snout rapidly opening and closing with hearty laughs.

"Itoll, see? It's dangerous for kids. Not to mention, it is very callous to cut your childhoods short like that," Jazal said sternly, caressing his snout gently.

"Master, I think it is more productive to think of us as little Bothan Padawans," Oc'nel said slyly.

"Padawans? That's very different." Jazal insisted.

"How so?" Oc'nel asked curiously. "I have been on Judicial missions with Padawans before, as young as fourteen. We have been shot at."

"Yeah, well, they're training and—ugh all right," Jazal sighed, conceding the point.

"Okay, back to our landing," Oc'nel said. "General Ata'nel, me and the other Bothan _Padawans_ ," Oc'nel said suppressing a laugh, "we were landing."

Back in the memory, as the ship's descent slowed, everything felt wrong. Oc'nel could feel the pain of being tugged on by the Bothawui's harsh gravity. It affected everything. His snout felt twenty times heavier and he had to struggle to get his face to not look at the ground. His whiskers felt wrong, like something was pulling them down to the ground. It hurt. His fur and thick brown mane flopped down and felt extremely itchy everywhere. _I am so itchy!_

Bothawui gravity felt similar to the training in the 1.1 g domes but somehow much worse. The familiar back compression pains started flaring up.

" _Nokiz ko kat trefa panan Bothawuisk Botha mid pam lunter-mafask 'shnawz mo,"_ [I don't want to meet the Bothawui Bothans with my snout facing down], General Ata'nel said calmly.

When Oc'nel didn't look up as suggested, Ata'nel snarled " _Ghįn-mąfą ghųnthęr_ _phąn Ųkh'nęl."_ [Look up Oc'nel.]

Oc'nel looked up and growled " _Khįz thrzį_ ," [Yes, General.]

The shuttle landed with a thud. All of four of the Bothan passengers cautiously unbuckled themselves and stood up. Oc'nel felt like he was going to fall over at first and braced himself. Even the General looked like he was straining.

The door opened. A far dimmer, much more white-looking light than on Botha'ahir shone in. Oc'nel smelled trees, all sorts of plants, soil with an organic earthy smell as opposed to a rusty iron smell, and a salty humid sharp smell that later turned out to be the ocean.

On top of that, was the smell of thousands of Bothans—far more musky-smelling than what Oc'nel was used to without the hint of sour Tannen and Onel Bothans had. This only piqued his curiosity. He was eager to get out, smell it, and smell them, all up close, and see it all.

The General stepped out first and took a deep panicky breath, and then walked forwards cautiously with his snout up. Something was wrong. His fur was standing up and swirling in fear.

Oc'nel stepped out nervously onto a majestic violet carpet laid out in front of the transport, took in a huge breath through his nose, then he looked forwards.

There were thousands of short stocky little Bothans in formation wearing a variety of uniforms from all of the branches: some were in green, some were in red and black, and some were in blue. Blue. _They sky…._ He held his snout up higher and could see the sky.

_Kriff! I am outside without a suit! I can't breathe!_ Oc'nel's fur fell flat in fear. He panicked, clenching at his throat gasping for air—air which moments earlier had smelled exciting. He began coughing. His throat was on fire. He pissed his pants.

One of the Bothans exiting behind Oc'nel let off a blood-curdling scream of terror.

Some of the Bothawui Bothans at the front of the formation started laughing. They continued laughing for a few seconds, right until General Ata'nel collapsed, then gasped. Ata'nel fell backwards without breaking his fall. Dozens of Bothans wearing white uniforms and red crosses rushed to help them.

Oc'nel collapsed to his knees and let his snout face the ground. Focusing on the ground, he could breathe.

"Wow that is messed up," Jazal sighed. "General Ata'nel died?"

"Yeah," Oc'nel gulped. "It's ironic really," he said cynically, as his eyes teared up. "Ata'nel was responsible for numerous propaganda posters where we landed on Kothlis or Bothawui and kicked their asses—"

—Oc'nel briefly flashed Jazal once such poster from his memory. A group of six tall camouflage wearing Botha'ahir Bothans were holding Boola Carbines, standing in a town in the middle of a forest. They towered over all of the shorter Bothawui Bothans. In comparison, the Bothawui Bothans looked heroic, strong, and almost deified in the tiny presence of the timid Bothawui Bothans. The tiny adult Bothawui Bothans all looked terrified, but one of their children was standing before the Botha'ahir Bothans, accepting a piece of what looked like candy. Above the scene in brilliant dark purple letters: **Эвриўис** **Сэюрск** _—Objective Secure._

After pausing to show Jazal the image, Oc'nel continued. "Then, this officer who spends his whole life preparing our society for war on Bothawui, lands on Bothawui for the first time, in peace, and got so frightened by Bothawui that he dies from a heart attack."

"And you stayed?!" Jazal asked in shock.

"Oh yeah. That was my first wake-up call Jazal," Oc'nel growled. "My first wake-up call that I had grown up in such a closed society, that even our leaders believed the nonsense. They could train us to throw thermal detonators at Bothawui gravity, run kilometres in it around in circles, but they had no idea we had developed Agoraphobia from living under domes for centuries," he sighed.

"I've visited Botha'ahir to see my family a few times," he continued when Jazal said nothing. "Once last year in fact. My family is, of course, still disappointed that I am not around. The Bothawui Bothans did learn from this experience too. Now, they always force us land at night, that way, we can acclimatise to, well, being outside without a space suit on."

Jazal continued stroking his head gently with her free hand. "What did you do next?"

"Oh, I was so itchy! Almost too itchy to even feel sad," Oc'nel showed her the memory of what happened in the hospital. After drinking lots of water and meeting some Bothawui Bothan cadets, he went downstairs to cafeteria. There was a barber in the visitor centre of the hospital: a gruff, black-furred, muscly, very musky smelling Bothan male with patches of grey on his mane. He had very fat muscly snout and looked like he was snarling.

He paid the barber 5 zaf, disrobed completely, and laid face down. He allowed the barber to almost completely buzz off his head hair, his mane, his whole back down to a two-length setting, his buttocks, his legs, his armpits, the backs of his arms. Then he rolled onto his front—

—Jazal gasped and started roaring with laughter uncontrollably.

"What?!" Oc'nel snarled angrily, snapping out of his memory, looking up at her face. "I thought you knew this was serious sad shtak."

Jazal could not stop laughing for twenty seconds. She caught her breath and explained, "I am sorry Itoll. It's just weird to me. You not only disrobed in front of a stranger, but you literally let a complete stranger, a very smelly one at that, shave your entire body! That was the weirdest thing I have ever perceived, and I am a Jedi. I don't think I have even heard of a weirder thing happening and the Galaxy is a very diverse place. I didn't quite get that you are so weird."

"I'm not very weird for a Bothan, Jazal. Lots of Bothans on all the worlds do that," Oc'nel muttered. "Not all. Some just let their fur grow shaggy and fall out in the summer, and some only get their manes trimmed and leave their face and body fur alone. After that though, existence was just too itchy for me. Gravity really bugs my hair Jazal. I've never let my mane grow out since."

"Your hair is still short. It's grown out a bit the last month, but… Is there really someone on Coruscant who shaves a number two length blade over your entire body?" she asked curiously.

"There are some barbers willing to do Bothans but no, I bought myself a droid and she does that for me. But, back to what happened next… I guess I'll just explain. The other two went back, completely traumatised and I became the first Botha'ahir Bothan to ever attend the Bothan Martial Academy. The next day I ventured outside again, feeling a bit colder with my shorter fur, with a nurse accompanying me, and was able to well… not panic. By the evening, I had set up in my dorm. Oh! Another ironic thing though… The Bothawui Bothans don't use clan names in military settings. Clan loyalty destroys unit cohesion. So, on Bothawui I am 'Itoll Oc' in a military setting. However, I was one of the tallest Bothans on the planet and both of my eyes are different colours, so everyone knew I was a Onel."

"Did you get harassed or bullied?" Jazal asked.

"Not really. I did gets weird looks every day. I probably would have been bullied if Ata'nel had not died. I mean, seriously, I pissed my pants in front of a military formation. When Ata'nel died though, to my own surprise, all of the Bothawui felt very bad for us and tried to comfort us. For years and years there were conspiracy theories floating around on Botha'ahir that Bothawui had assassinated General Ata'nel. It honestly really angered me."

"I can see why," Jazal said thoughtfully. "He was partly killed by his own arrogance and the arrogance he instilled in others."

"Exactly," Oc'nel replied, "and the Bothawui Bothans were really nice to us after the horrible event. Don't get me wrong Jazal. Ata'nel saved my life, but he was also a fool. The type of fool that can only really exist in such a closed society as ours."

"Did any other Botha'ahir Bothans attend while you were there?" Jazal asked.

"Oh yeah!" Oc'nel said excitedly with a big reminiscing smile. "Tanya Lon'tannen became the first Clan Tannen at the Academy, my second to last year. The Commandant had me come with him to greet her that night at the landing pad. When she graduated, she necame the first Botha'ahir Marine with a commission from the Bothan Martial Academy."

"How did you join the Judicials?" Jazal asked interrogatively. She squeezed his head a bit more firmly.

Oc'nel thought and went back into his memories. He showed Jazal Sey'les, a shaggy, black, grey, and white—generally ashy-coloured Bothan one year ahead. She snarled a lot and flashed her fangs everywhere. All of the instructors hated her, and she had developed a very bad reputation with the Bothawui officer corps. The Republic launched a new program where Bothan Martial Academy graduates could go to the Judicial Academy for two years, instead of four, and graduate. Now she was in blue, and the next year, came back to recruit more Bothans into the Judicial forces.

"Sey'les?" Jazal asked.

"Yeah, Sey'les gave me the idea," Oc'nel admitted. "I do know her, but not very well. She was always a year ahead of me and now she is well… she was on Antar 4—"

—Jaza's presence slipped further back into Oc'nel's head.

"Jazal, be careful back there—"

"—what's this?" Jazal asked curiously.

Oc'nel gasped in horror as he felt her presence near where his Mk-2 chip was. "Jazal! Don't touch that—"

A robotic female voice Oc'nel had not heard in years suddenly spoke in his head, "Armour connection detected. Activating Mark 2 chip. To deactivate, move your tongue in movement Resh."

"AAAHH!" he yelled a panic and shoved Jazal off from him.

Jazal tumbled over the side of the bed.

The chip pumped Oc'nel's adrenal glands and at the same time, its magnet activated. His head flew backwards, and his neck magnetically locked onto the hotel lamp at the bedside table. He fell off the bed.

"Jazal!" Oc'nel snarled angrily. He moved his tongue in a Resh shape and the magnet deactivated. Oc'nel was now lying on the floor panting with his legs on the bed; his neck was resting on the cold hard lamp.

"I am sorry Itoll," Jazal groaned, getting up from the floor. "That was definitely not supposed to be on your brain. What was that?"

"My Mk-2 chip," Oc'nel sighed. "All Bothan Marines get implanted with one. It lets us control suits of power armour and pumps up our adrenaline. Kriff! It's late. I told you to stay away from that. You could have killed me."

"I am sorry Itoll, here," Jazal grabbed his arm and pulled him to standing position, then helped him sit on the bed. She put her hand on the side of his face and her forehead up to his forehead.

Oc'nel felt a bit calmer. It was like he was getting a face and head massage, rather than a feeling in his brain.

"I think I'll teach you to meditate sometime," she muttered thoughtfully.

"Sorry for getting so mad," Oc'nel said.

"It's all right. That was dangerous," Jazal admitted. "I should be more careful." She stroked Oc'nel's snout and brushed his whiskers. "You are right though."

"Right about what?" Oc'nel sighed in a tired voice.

"A mysterious chip in your brain tells me that your scientists definitely studied the Bothan brain at some point. I just reinvented the wheel when I found your emotion centre in your Olfactory Node."

* * *

At breakfast in the hotel lobby, Oc'nel got a some scary looking black juice that looked like fuel but actually tasted like Jogan fruit, some bread that seemed to be real bread, Gartro eggs that did not smell like real eggs but tasted like them, this strange large black melon that also tasted sweet; inside the melon were chunks of fruit that smelled like they were from a totally different type of plant. He also ordered some terrible tasting caf which he drank black—there was no milk substitute. Bothans did not produce lactase in adulthood which made them unable to consume milk from animals that many humanoids could.

By the third morning Oc'nel had concluded that, on Alpheridies, sweet fruit with breakfast was not an anomaly. "Jazal, what are these chunks of different fruit in the melon called?"

"Oh, I've never asked," she said plainly. "I've always thought of them as part of the dish. I think we should hurry up, you got up a bit late Itoll," she added.

"Well, that wasn't completely my fault Jazal," Oc'nel replied.

"True, but… hmm your bag does not seem very full."

Oc'nel took another bite of melon then looked down at his bag. She was right. His rucksack looked half the size of hers. _Hmmm._ He sniffed the air curiously. _It doesn't smell like anything's missing,_ he thought confidently and smiled in relief.

"Itoll!" Jazal snapped. Are you seriously sniffing the air rather than looking?"

"Sorry," Oc'nel replied.

"Search your rucksack to make sure you packed everything, that's an order. No sniffy sniffy, it's cute, but I doubt you can actually know for sure that you packed everything just by sniffing."

Oc'nel got up from his chair, opened his rucksack and started searching it. _Boots? Yep I could smell those, hmmm… ration packs, check._

"Itoll, I sense you only packed two ration packs. We are starting a hike today, camping overnight, and finishing tomorrow. Can you really go on just two ration packs? The hike will be 57 kilometres."

"No, sorry that's not enough food. Is there any place here that would sell camping food?" Oc'nel's fur swirled with embarrassment. He scratched the back of his neck.

"There is a camping goods store right down the street," a gravelly death stick-smoker's voice said, intruding himself into the conversation.

"Thank you," Jazal said curtly, after turning around to face the stranger. "Itoll," she said turning back to him, "I also sense you only packed one pair of clothes."

"Oh, that's fine, Bothans hardly sweat through our skin," Itoll replied, gesturing with both hands towards his shirt. "I've been wearing these for two days."

"I know that. I not only can sense your clothes, but—never mind. It is forecast to rain today, so I expect your clothes will get wet and muddy," Jazal sighed.

"Very well, I can live with that. I've got fur Jazal," Oc'nel said confidently.

* * *

"It's sooooo rainy," Oc'nel yelled over the rain. "I am having trouble hearing anything but rain."

"Bothan, we need to walk at least ten more kilometres unless you want to walk for thirteen hours straight tomorrow."

"Sorry," Oc'nel said. His fur would have swirled nervously, but it couldn't because it was soaked.

Walking on the pitch-black trail for hours had, at first, radically improved Oc'nel's sense of hearing and smell. Before the rain picked up, Oc'nel felt like he could hear the echoes of obstacles before he reached them. Now however, the rain was so loud he could only hear rain and Jazal's voice.

"I can't see but, are there trees we can walk under?" Oc'nel asked.

"We will be passing out of the temperate circle and into the hotter subtropical one. There will be trees there, but first, we have a steep climb," Jazal said loudly.

Oc'nel tripped on a step and fell forwards. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, I should have said we have a steep climb this second," Jazal admitted while pulling him up. "Needless to say, watch your—"

"—ooof," Oc'nel groaned as he fell again. This time his knee painfully hit the hard rock in front of him.

"Well, this is harder than I thought it would be," Jazal said in a worried voice.

"I can't see the stairs." Oc'nel moaned.

"The steps are all the same height. Here, take a step… there you go. I'll tell you when we reach the last one."

With each new step, Oc'nel cautiously scraped the bottom of his boot onto the wet step in front of him. Something odd was in the air… Oc'nel sniffed twice. _Is that lightning?_

"Jazal, I think I smell lightning," he said.

"You can't smell lightning Itoll," Jazal corrected. "What you are smelling is ozone that happens because—you smell ozone? Hmmmm maybe I can smell it a bit too…"

Suddenly, the horizon was brilliantly lit by a bright white light. For a moment, Oc'nel could see the top of the hill and its shape illuminated by the light.

Oc'nel winced. "Jazal! I thought you said there wasn't any visible light on Alpheridies?"

"There is lightning," she admitted. "It is rare though, especially—"

—a deafening roar of thunder passed them, then echoed from the valley below. Some unseen animals squawked and shrieked in terror.

"That was loud," Oc'nel said, putting a finger from his free hand in his ear and squishing out some of the water. He was soaked. "I don't think it's the smartest idea to be at the top of a hill during a—"

"—we should be all right Itoll. We aren't walking over the very highest point."

Oc'nel sighed. "Jazal, I would never have imagined you were such a risktaker," he commented while continuing his blind walk up the stairs.

"Really?" Jazal gave a maniacal laugh. Her hand gripped his hand a bit more tightly.

For a brief moment, Oc'nel wondered what was so funny. _Oh yeah…_ "I get why it's a funny observation," he smiled.

_She stuck her fingers in my mind, and now we are walking up a hill through a lightning storm on a planet with no light, except lightning. Risky. Damn that was a stupid observation. She also left Pax back in Fospolis. Risky…_ "Oh! Pax!" Oc'nel yelled suddenly, opening his eyes wide in shock despite the total lack of light.

"What of him?" Jazal asked.

"Did you call Pax yet?"

"Yeah, and I called Carver. They seem to be hitting it off," Jazal said.

"Good!" Oc'nel smiled to himself so optimistically that his eyes closed, and his snout opened as he smiled. _It is really nice of Carver to be watching out for Pax like that. Honestly, Carver is a complete asshole, so this is a pleasant surprise._

* * *

Oc'nel did not look forward to crossing over the peak and walking down the other side. However, it turned out it was not really a hill or mountain, but the start of a plateau. They went up the hill, down slightly then walked on fairly level ground.

The rain slowed, the temperature felt like it was going up slightly, and the shrubbery thickened. Oc'nel could feel and hear all of the plant-analogs brushing up against his legs.

The plant-analogs smelled a lot like plants too. They didn't smell quite as refreshing, as if they produced less oxygen than real plants. None of them had a minty smell but almost like expired honey. A little bit sweet, but also musty. He walked slower, sniffing the air curiously while Jazal tugged him along.

"Welcome to the subtropical circle," Jazal said. "More life, as you can smell no doubt."

"Yeah," Oc'nel admitted. The ground became progressively squishier. Oc'nel's boots felt like they might get sucked off his feet.

"Damn," Jazal said suddenly and stopped. "It is going to be very muddy. Here, wait."

Oc'nel stopped and let go of Jazal's hand and turned around. He could see nothing in any direction. Sometimes when he squinted, his eyes would play tricks on him and invent little shapes, but nothing real was visible.

"Do you mind if I lift you?"

"Carry me?!" Oc'nel asked surprised. "I am not a toddler or something!"

"That's not what I mean. Lift you with the force over the mud," Jazal said simply.

"Oh…" his ears perked up curiously. "I suppose that would be fine."

The rain was now coming down in a quiet drizzle. Oc'nel could hear it dripping onto the leaves above.

"All right. I will lift you over the mud, set you down on a dry spot, then climb," Jazal explained.

"Climb?!"

"Yep Bothan, I am going to climb."

"Climb where I mean?" Oc'nel asked.

"The tree canopies connect. I can go from one tree to another and meet you on the other side. I need to meditate for a moment, calm down and be quiet."

"All right," Oc'nel said. He sat still and continued sniffing the air gently. None of the smells were things he had not yet smelled, but they were all fairly new and entertaining. Jazal went completely silent for a few minutes.

"Okay Itoll, I am going to float you over. Can you hold my things?"

"Sure," Oc'nel said excitedly. He was beaming in anticipation. "I have one question though. Why don't you float yourself over too?"

"I am not strong enough to do that," Jazal said in a neutral tone. "There are only two Jedi I have ever seen levitate themselves: Masters Yoda and Tera Sinube."

"Why is it difficult to do?" Oc'nel asked curiously.

"Bothan, it's analogous to lifting yourself physically. You may be able to lift your own body weight, but you cannot just squat down, put your hands under your thighs and carry yourself into the sky—it requires a totally different power. The type of levitation most Jedi can perform is analogous to you simply carrying things."

"All right, I get it. Lifting yourself would be violating a law of motion," he said. His snout dropped open in sudden realisation and astonishment and gasped. "Wait Jazal!" he yelled. "How do Yoda and Tera Sinube violate the laws of physics? How is—"

"—enough questions," she huffed. "You are breaking my meditative state. I am not ready to speculate myself. If I ever learn, perhaps I will tell you. I know you are curious, but I am not going to spill every Jedi secret. Bothan, prepare yourself, three, two, one and…"

Oc'nel felt light pressure all over his body, his rucksack on his back felt lighter, and so did Jazal's rucksack he was carrying in his arms. He could see nothing but could feel a slight breeze and slight forward movement and he floated. "Whoa!"

Being Force-lifted by Jazal was surprisingly comfortable. It did not feel like being dragged or carried, but instead, more like being carried by a liquid. Everything on his body felt lighter. The weight was still there, but lighter.

Oc'nel had a sudden realisation. "Jazal, I think I have a theory for how Master Yoda can lift himself!"

"Bothan," Jazal strained, "Shut up! Tell me later. I am busy."

"Sorry," Oc'nel said. His fur was still too wet to swirl from anything.

After a few minutes, his feet gently touched the ground and the weight returned to him. He set Jazal's bag down and felt the ground with his hand. It was damp but not muddy.

"Thank you," he said smiling.

"No problem," Jazal panted.

"Is there a spot I can sit down?" Oc'nel asked.

"You need to sit down Bothan? You need to sit down?" she panted almost out of breath. "There's a log behind you, turn around and walk carefully."

"Okay, sorry and thanks," he said, and walked slowly taking tiny steps. Eventually, his boots bumped something wooden. He leaned over, felt it, turned around, and sat down.

Jazal began climbing. Oc'nel could not see her climb, but he could hear her straining and every once in a while, slipping on a wet piece of tree—perhaps tree-analog. Occasionally, a branch would fall down into the mud with a splash.

"Are you feeling all right?" Jazal asked. "Any feelings of worry, fear, any hallucinations?"

"Hallucinations? Nope. Actually, this is kind of nice," Oc'nel said with a smile.

"Okay good, I don't want you to end up suffering ill-effects from sensory deprivation—"

"—I do have a theory though about the force—" Oc'nel interrupted.

"You don't have a theory Itoll. A theory is a substantiated explanation for something happening in the universe. Not every thought a Bothan has is a theory."

"Oh," he said. _Sheesh!_ "Okay Master," he said carefully, "I have a substantiated explanation for something happening in the universe."

"What is it?" she snapped as she strained.

"I think Masters Yoda and Sinube can float themselves—"

"—levitate themselves Itoll."

"All right, levitate themselves," he sighed. "They can levitate themselves because they aren't actually violating a law of motion. They are making themselves lighter! They decrease their mass and—"

"—Itoll, your arrogance—wait…" Jazal gasped in shock. "Sorry Itoll, that actually makes some sense. Those Masters might spread their mass to be less dense than their surroundings," she said deep in thought. "Huh. I thought you were just an attractive guy who was a bit curious, very air-headed," she added bluntly while continuing to climb.

"Attractive guy? You can't see?" Oc'nel stammered, then growled "air-headed?!"

"Well, I can sense shapes and personality is a factor—" she paused for a moment. "Itoll, let's talk about your brain. I didn't know you were so… imaginative. I underestimated you," Jazal said simply.

Oc'nel imagined she must be staring at him now. He was not sure how to take that complement. "Um… thanks? Why didn't you know I was 'imaginative' from reading my mind?"

"I literally saw like seven things from your memories and poked your sniffy-sniffy Bothan emotion centres a little bit," Jazal said. "Your theory impresses me though. It is definitely not how a scientist would word it, but imaginative and makes more sense than thinking of it as a type of lifting or levitation… Floating… like on a liquid."

"Thanks," he said, smiling to himself.

"If you are right though, I suppose, the logical next question is where little green's extra mass goes, when floats, he does," Jazal said in a mock Yoda voice.

Oc'nel started laughing out of control first then shuddered. He had this odd feeling that he was going to be smitten from the heavens for laughing at Yoda.

Jazal began straining again, climbing to another branch. "Little green might just be… somehow spreading his mass out. Like how an oxygen tank sinks, but if you let the oxygen release into a balloon to occupy more space—AAAHHHHHH!" She screamed as a branch snapped and splashed into the mud with a sickening THWAP.

"JAZAL?!" Oc'nel yelled in terror, his snout hanging open.

"I am… ugh! I am covered in mud!" she exclaimed. Oc'nel could hear her struggling to get up, squishing in the mud. "Ugh, my boot!" she yelled.

"Why don't you just use the force?" Oc'nel asked.

"It doesn't work that way," Jazal growled in a croaky voice.

_Did I teach a non-Bothan to growl?_ Oc'nel smiled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Jazal asked sternly as she approached.

"You just growled a bit. Not like a Bothan, but it was funny."

Jazal sighed.

"What's the plan now?" Oc'nel asked.

* * *

Oc'nel had to fight the urge to squirm away from Jazal's muddy hand as she continued guiding him. His fur caked to her muddy hand. They walked four more clicks until they reached the Yasek River—also named after Master Yasek.

By the third click, it was no longer raining and Oc'nel had completely lost his sense of time. He felt sleepier than he did earlier in the day; his circadian clock was still working, but he had no idea what time it was, nor did Jazal allow him to turn on his datapad for risk of injuring local wildlife. Jazal still had her Shadowsync datapad, which did not emit light anyways other than infrared, as all active electronics do.

Jazal disrobed—of course, Oc'nel could not see Jazal disrobe but heard her groan loudly as she tried to yank off her under-cloak. The dried mud crackled.

He could smell and hear the nearby river.

"It might be easier, Master, if you jump in the river then disrobe," Oc'nel said in an even tone, his fur once again swirling nervously. _The Jedi is definitely in an explosive mood._

"You are right," she sighed.

Oc'nel's fur relaxed with relief.

"I sense your fur is doing things again," she said as she hopped in with a splash.

"Yeah," Oc'nel replied. "It's nice."

Jazal threw her wet cloak onto the grass-analogs. It made a splatting noise as it landed.

Oc'nel disrobed in the dark, then jumped in the water too. His feet touched the muddy bottom.

"Be careful," Jazal said. "Swimming might be more difficult if you can't—"

"Actually, it's pretty easy," Oc'nel said happily, floating on his back allowing his sore legs to relax. "I don't intend to swim, just float."

"Well, you are floating away," Jazal chuckled and grabbed his foot, pulling him towards her. "Stay near me Itoll. This is a river."

"Okay," Oc'nel sighed, standing up. He took off his eyepatch. _Huh. No difference. Might as well wash the fur around there._ After pulling his face out of the water, Oc'nel asked, "how many more clicks till we stop for the night?" He sniffed the air curiously. It smelled like Miraluka, perhaps humans, but probably Miraluka were nearby.

"I think we can—"

—Oc'nel gasped and tensed up as he suddenly heard creaking boards and chatting voices. He submerged deeper in the water.

"Relax Itoll. You're naked on a planet where we all lack eyes. If it makes you feel better, Miraluka can sense what's under your clothes all the time unless you are wearing a thick suit of armour. You let a strange Bothan shave your whole body but feel embarrassment from this?" she asked sternly. "You can't see us."

"Well, it feels weird," Oc'nel said sternly, allowing himself to stand up a little.

Jazal chuckled. "Also, here's your eyepatch you goof," she said, approaching Oc'nel from behind and putting it back on his eye.

"Well, hello there. I've never sensed your kind before. What are you?" a male voice asked.

_What am I?_ Oc'nel began feeling a bit offended.

"He's pointing you Itoll," Jazal said softly.

"Well, I can't see," Oc'nel growled. He turned to the direction he heard the voice coming from "Bothan. I am a Bothan."

"What brings you to Alpheridies?" a female voice asked.

"Believe it or not, shore leave," Oc'nel said with an awkward chuckle.

"Why shouldn't we believe it?" the female voice asked interrogatively.

"Well… I dunno…" Oc'nel said awkwardly, starting to feel nervous.

"He doesn't mean to be rude," Jazal said. "He was attempting humour."

"Oh," the male voice attempted to fake a laugh. "Ha. Ha."

"You aren't a tour guide, are you? I sense the Kyber of two lightsabers in your bag," the male said. "Are you both Jedi?"

_Two lightsabers…_ Oc'nel realised Jazal still had Master Averross's lightsaber. _That's lucky she can lie and say I am a Jedi too and then—_

"—Nope I am a Jedi but the Bothan is not," Jazal admitted. "Just showing a friend on shore-leave around my home-world."

"Interesting," the male said. "I didn't know Jedi had _friends_."

"Well, some of us do," Jazal said sternly. "There is nothing against having _friends_ in the Jedi Code," she added, mimicking the same tone the stranger used in his innuendo.

Oc'nel scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Jazal," he whispered, "maybe you should tell them it is none of their business," he winced.

"We are heading out of the subtropical ring. We were originally planning on having our meal along the way. Would you like to join us right now?" the female asked.

"Certainly, are you fine with that Itoll?"

Oc'nel winced. "Sure," he said with a nervous growl. _What is Jazal doing?_

Jazal held his hand, climbed out, then pulled him up. She whispered in his ear, "here's a bit of Jedi business for you."

Oc'nel's ears perked up curiously.

Jazal began reciting something, "We have a rule. Honour the Jedi Order _._ When a Jedi misbehaves in public, an observer might think, 'If this Jedi represents the whole Order, then plainly no Jedi is worth respect.' On meeting a second Jedi, who behaves better than the first, that same person might think, 'Does this say that half the Jedi are good, and half bad?' On meeting a third Jedi, who behaves as well as the second, the person thinks, 'Was the first Jedi an exception, then?"

"I think—" Oc'nel started.

"—it is especially important for a Jedi like me who has a _friend_ , to show that we are all not like Master Averross. He is currently all over the news. I am already leaving a somewhat dubious impression by being here with you. I want to leave, if not a good impression, then at least not an impression of being a reckless drunken maniac wielding a laser sword."

"All right," Oc'nel sighed "sorry," he stood up straighter. "I can't find my bag Jazal."

"Here, do you remember where you packed your towel?"

"I think I can find it, but maybe it would be better if you got it," he answered.

"Very well," Jazal muttered before rummaging through his bag, "here."

He could hear Jazal drying off and finding taking dry clothes from her bag.

Oc'nel took his towel and sopped up the bulk of the water from his fur. He was still extremely damp. He tried pulling up his trousers, but they clung to his wet fur and would not come up. They felt like tight wet socks. He nearly ripped his pants straining.

Jazal said impatiently, "Itoll, just come over here. None of us mind. You smell like a wet Bothan, but you would with clothes too."

"Off-worlders," the male chuckled. "The ones with eyes are especially odd. So many taboos centred around sight and being seen."

"I can't find you," Oc'nel winced nervously. _Kriff. This is soooooo awkward!_

He heard Jazal's footsteps approaching. She grabbed his hand and led him forwards.

"I recommend you drop your towel and sit on it," Jazal said. "There are some bugs in the dirt that bite, and I foresee that you will trip over yourself if you wrap it around your legs."

_Foresee?_ Oc'nel stopped trying to wrap his towel around like a cloak and reluctantly dropped it, then sat down.

"Good," Jazal remarked and passed him a ration pack, and a set of scissors.

Oc'nel could smell the outside of the ration pack—rubbery plastic—but had no idea what was inside.

"We heard on the news that a Jedi Master—" the female started.

"—let's start with introductions," Jazal interrupted. "I am Master Jazal, this is Itoll Oc'nel."

"Very well, I am Nodim," the female said, "and this is my husband—"

"—Hadal," the male said.

"Nice to meet you," Oc'nel said with a nervous wince. _Okay, pretending I am alone with Jazal is not going to work._

"I apologise for making you uncomfortable," Hadal said.

Oc'nel's fur swirled with suspicion. He doubted Hadal's apology was genuine but, nonetheless, replied "that's all right." _Every planet likes to haze the off-worlder._

"Back on topic," Nodim said sternly. "We saw on the news—"

"—the second kyber crystal your husband sensed," Jazal interrupted. "That belongs to the Jedi you saw on the news. If I have my way, he will never wield a lightsaber again."

"I am glad to hear it," Nodim said. "And I am glad someone like yourself is taking it seriously, however, as a practitioner of law myself, my problem is with the Jedi having their own criminal justice system. It allows for all sorts of abuse by rogue members of your order."

"I agree," Jazal said simply.

"You have no defence?" Nodim asked.

"No, I am pleading guilty—not for Averross's behaviour mind you, he was actually my superior a few days ago, but for the Jedi having a bad system. We do have a bad system. It is outdated and represents an old era where most courts were run by Kings. If I had my way, I'd abolish diplomatic immunity too and make the Jedi subject to local and Republic laws."

Oc'nel realised he was doing nothing but listening in on the conversation. He took the scissors, cut open his ration pack and sniffed the air curiously. _Hmmm smells like meal #39 carrot soup and Alderaanian wafers._

The Miralukas took notice. "With a snout like that, your sense of smell must be very good Itoll," Hadal's voice said from the darkness.

"Yeah…" Oc'nel replied. "I could smell you two before I heard you."

Hadal laughed.

"Jazal, could you pass me some water?" Oc'nel asked holding out his hand.

Jazal passed him a canteen.

After setting the thin plastic heating element from his ration pack in front of him, Oc'nel cut open the heating element in his and poured water into it. The chemical reaction would generate lightless heat quickly on reaction with the water.

"What do we smell like then?" Nodim asked interrogatively.

Oc'nel put his hand over the heating element to feel if it was working. He could feel the hot steam billowing out and dropped the closed packet of soup inside. "Umm…. You are asking curiously, and won't be offended right?" Oc'nel growled nervously.

"Correct," Nodim said serenely.

"You smell like humans. Musky like most mammalian humanoids, but with a bit of a sharpness that burns when you get too sweaty," Oc'nel said simply. "I am not around most humans or Miralukas enough to distinguish you from each other. I mean… okay, I would be able to smell Jazal apart from you, but not a random Miraluka off the street and a random human from…. Alderaan."

Finishing that explanation, Oc'nel took out his wafer and ate it before the soup was ready. He savoured the grainy taste.

"Well, it makes sense that we smell like humans," Jazal said after swallowing a bite of of Anaxsi dumpling soup. "We were humans less than 13,000 years ago." Jazal leaned over, said "here," and pulled out his sachet of soup from the heating element.

Oc'nel took it and carefully opened the top, then started licking the hot carrots.

"Here's a spoon Itoll," Jazal growled.

Oc'nel suppressed a laugh and took the spoon.

"Oh, I have heard of you before Jazal. You were that Jedi who did research here before with Master Poof were you not?" Hadal asked.

"Indeed," Jazal said simply, taking another bite.

"While I appreciate your… scholarship, Master Jedi," Nodim said evenly, "don't you worry that you are spoiling the mysteries of the universe when you try to explain everything? As far as I was concerned, no one on Alpheridies was asking 'how did we evolve?' It seems to me like you are well… ruining a lot of important stories."

"As someone who practices law, respectfully, I would think that you often encounter information affected by context? Can't we just interpret those origin stories as dependent on context too? In this case, historical context," Jazal inquired, interrogatively.

Neither of the other Miralukas answered her question. Oc'nel sighed.

"Obviously, our ancestors, the Bothan's company excluded, were living on a strange world with no light, failing technology, with none of the important technological and cultural knowledge we have now. I take it by your tone that you believe my explanation of our origin is more logical than the old creation stories, correct?"

"Yes," Nodim and Hadal both admitted.

"Then, can't we just view those stories as the best explanation people had at the time, with some allegorical value to present day morality?" Jazal asked.

Nodim and Hadal were silent for a while.

After a while, Oc'nel chuckled, and spoke with a mouth full of carrots, "I am glad it's simpler for Bothans."

"It is?!" Hadal asked. "Do you not have religions and creation stories?"

"Well, some Bothawui Bothans do have creation stories. On Botha'ahir, where I am from, most of us don't believe in any religion other than making our home into a paradise. On the moons Bothawui though, as well as on Kothlis, they just follow the Bothan Way. It has a salvation story, but not a creation story."

"I suppose that would be simpler," Hadal said. "There would be no creation story that could conflict with new discoveries."

"Yep," Oc'nel said smiling.

Jazal gave a sigh of relief as if she and Oc'nel had dodged a social blaster shot.

"What's the Bothan Way?" Nodim asked.

Jazal groaned.

"Well, it's a long book I haven't completely read," Oc'nel admitted. "To be honest, I don't believe in most of it—"

—Jazal sighed in relief once more.

Oc'nel was beginning to see a pattern. _Hmmm she doesn't like the Bothan Way._

"Master Jedi," Nodim said. "It is a bit rude of you to prevent your _friend_ ," she paused after using the same annoying innuendo-laced intonation as if to taste how it sounded. "You are preventing your _friend_ from telling us a bit about his culture. We do not get a lot of off-worlders out here, and certainly not Bothans."

"My apologies," Jazal said evenly. "The dominant religion on Bothawui is an extremely materialistic one, to the point that many of its tenets would be culturally taboo here on Alpheridies. I just hope that you will not judge the Bothanstoo harshly."

After realising what Jazal was worried about, Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously. _Hey, my fur is drier now,_ he thought with a smile and his fur fell flat. "Jazal, I think… well I do think there are some common grounds my culture would have with yours—both the Jedi and Miraluka," Oc'nel said more confidently.

"Like what?" Jazal asked curiously.

"Well, bounty hunters. We don't like 'em," Oc'nel said with a toothy smile. "Murder for profit in general is against the Bothan Way."

"True," Jazal noted. "But the reason for that, I believe, is a side-effect—a need to regulate your culture's otherwise unregulated, and frankly, sometimes libertine behaviour."

"I suppose," Oc'nel said thoughtfully, looking up at the darkness.

"I am so confused," Hadal said.

"Me too," Nodim admitted. "You are both dodging our questions."

Oc'nel sighed. "All right, the Bothan Way is essentially—at its core—self-focused. You put yourself first, then your family, then your clan, then Bothans, then every other sentient, then every non-sentient. You use your influence to make more people follow you, and then can help them, and when you increase your power, you help them too."

Nodim gave a cautious, uncomfortable, "hmmm _._ "

"Focusing only on yourself, we believe, degrades the spirit," Hadal said. "That perspective on power and influence sounds quite… Dark Side, like the Sith philosophy," he added suspiciously.

"How did… well how do Bothans who don't attain power fit in?" Nodim asked curiously. "In much of our Miraluka history—and also Jedi history for that matter, people who believed in grabbing power and using it to influence others, invariably led to conflict and destruction. Where do the Bothans left out of the power structure fit in?"

Before Oc'nel could start explaining anything, Jazal spoke next. "I would characterise it as… charismatic groups centred around an individual—almost like celebrity worship or cults. Most Bothans gravitate towards more charismatic members of their community, try to fit into their social circles, and try to stay in their good graces. From what I have read, most Bothans either carve out their own group of followers or fit into one."

"Jazal, I didn't know you had studied Bothan society in depth. Why didn't you tell me?" Oc'nel asked curiously, his fur swirled with suspicion.

"It never came up," Jazal answered simply. "Jedi learn of a variety of cultures when we are still in the Temple Crèche. Bothan culture inevitably comes up because it is so… so different from the Jedi way."

_Great. Every Jedi views me with prejudice. Just great._ "Well, in our defence," Oc'nel sighed, raising the palms of his hands. "The Bothan Way developed during a time when there was lots of conflict between Botha'ahir and Bothawui. Basically, we are supposed to live life for our own benefit, rather than to hurt other Bothans or other sentients."

Oc'nel paused waiting for someone else to say something. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again into the darkness. "On the bright side, that makes most Bothan conflicts more interpersonal and political than violent. It's also not completely selfish because through gaining power and influence you can help those you care for. I admit though, I don't believe in it myself as a moral code to live by. Also, many acts that would be considered immoral on Coruscant are allowed in the Bothan Way—"

—Hadal and Nodim both started roaring with laughter.

Jazal laughed too. It sounded like she was trying not to laugh but could not help herself.

"Immoral… on Coruscant!" Hadal laughed, barely able to speak. "There are things that Coruscanti consider immoral? That's news to me!"

Oc'nel did not understand and helplessly turned from one laughing voice to another. He tried to laugh along but only managed a fake smile.

"They're joking," Jazal said consolingly and rubbed her knuckles on his head. "It is funny to Miralukas and Jedi. We know that Coruscanti have some morals, at least literally. It is just that on Alpheridies, Coruscanti people seem very materialistic, vain, and selfish too. You even think your people are comparatively even more materialistic than the humans on Coruscant. Do you see why I was worried Bothan?"

"Yeah," Oc'nel said with a toothy grin. His fur stopped swirling nervously and flopped down in relief.

"It is interesting to learn of other cultures, even if I don't agree with them," Hadal said finally.

Oc'nel opened his mouth to say something then stopped. Hadal's arrogance almost made Oc'nel want to start defending Bothan culture, but he let it slide. _Funny how comments like that make me want to defend something I disagree with._

"Well, it was very nice to meet you both," Nodim said. "I am glad that you managed to find a _friend_ you care for so much, despite being a Jedi."

"It was very interesting to talk with you Itoll and I wish we could chat for longer," Hadal sighed regretfully. "We really must be going though; we hope to reach the snowline by Primeday."

"Hopefully we shall meet again," Jazal said serenely.

"It was nice to meet you Nodim and Hadal," Oc'nel said and stood up waving goodbye to where he thought they were standing.

Hadal grabbed Oc'nel's furry forearm darkness and held it firmly, interrupting Oc'nel's wave.

Oc'nel gasped and froze at first, then awkwardly returned Hadal's arm-grab, realising it was like a handshake of some sorts. He grabbed Hadal's fleshy warm forearm for a moment, then let go.

Nodim then grabbed Oc'nel's forearm, and he returned the ritual grabbing her sleeve-covered forearm, not able to see a thing.

They said no more words. Oc'nel stood there listening to Nodim and Hadal's footsteps on the grassy plant-analogs get further and further away. _Well, that was kriffing weird!_

"Let's just set up camp here," Jazal said finally. "We will have a nine-hour hike tomorrow, with an extra day to spare if we need it before the _Agarath_ departs."

"Sounds good," Oc'nel replied standing still uselessly while Jazal set things up.

Jazal rummaged through the bags.

Oc'nel could hear her unzipping sleeping bags as he stood still thinking of how strange this entire experience was. "You know," he said finally. "Meeting people, talking to them for a while, and only knowing whether they are male, or female, is weird. If I never see Hadal or Nodim in the light, I will go to my grave not knowing what hair colour either had, how old they were, how tall they were, really… anything. I mean, they smell like humans, Hadal was not wearing long sleeves, Nodim was wearing long sleeves, and I can recognise their voices. It feels almost tragic."

Jazal chuckled.


	30. Lir Sey'les

In Orbit of Coruscant

The moment the _Judicator_ arrived in the Coruscant system, Sey'les and Wulf received messages on their datapads. They were both identical, except where Sey'les's said **"Captain"** Wulf's said **"Lieutenant."** They had both been holding their datapads in anticipation seated in the observation lounge for the last twenty minutes as the _Judicator_ travelled through hyperspace.

" **Authority: GRL-6-7-1 of the Naval Authorization Act**

**Agent Sey'les, you are offered a commission in the Republic Navy at the rank of Captain. By signing below in the 'accept' field you are accepting the commission. By signing in the 'refuse' field, you are refusing the commission. Report for your Navy physical Primeday at 0900 hours. Swearing in will be done later in the day, presuming you are successful. For inquiries, please call the Republic Center for Military Operations at—"**

Sey'les immediately began calling the number.

"What is it Sey'les?" Wulf asked inquisitively.

Sey'les was in her Bothan strategic mode. "Primeday? That's in five days. I want to do my physical sooner. You know how this is going to work right?"

"Uh no…" the Ardennian admitted.

Sey'les began explaining. "Thousands of Judicials will be getting their physicals later in the week. If we wait until Primeday, who knows what will happen. I am willing to accept anything at this point, but I don't want to accept just anything if I don't have to."

"Yes?" an unfamiliar male voice on Sey'les's datapad asked.

"This is Agent Sey'les, callsign Muun Leader, identification code 000978 Wobani."

"This is the office of personnel assignment. What can I do for you Agent Sey'les?"

"I am scheduled for my Naval physical Primeday. I was wondering if I could do it tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?!" Wulf yelled in shock.

Sey'les shushed him. "Yes, tomorrow."

"I am transferring your call to our director Agent, please hold."

"Are you insane Sey'les?" Wulf asked.

"Wulf, do you think you will be any more physically fit in five days than you are now?" Sey'les asked. "I mean, both of us are missing fur, but otherwise, I feel fine."

"I suppose I do feel fine," Wulf admitted. Nonetheless, he scratched his head nervously.

"Good, do I have your permission to get you a physical too?" Sey'les asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to go there and do it the same day as you," Wulf replied.

"This is Commander Bergus," a human male voice said. "Agent Sey'les, I am surprised you are asking for a physical tomorrow."

"Thank you for taking my call sir," Sey'les said with a hint of impatience.

Bergus spoke in a very concerned tone, "my medical records show that just three days ago you had second degree burns on 20% of your body Agent Sey'les. Are you even certain you would pass a physical?"

"Yes sir, the Bacta healed me up nicely," Sey'les said with a smile. "My fur is quite patchy, but otherwise, I am fine. The same goes for the other active member of my team Razal Wulf. I would like him to get a physical too tomorrow."

"Very well Sey'les," Bergus huffed. "Normally we would send instructions to your address in person. Do not consume any alcohol tonight, you will get an alcohol and spice screening, full medical examination, full physical fitness test, and also your shooting qualification done."

"A shooting qualification at the same time as my medical exam?" Sey'les asked incredulously.

"Yes, we want to process you as quickly as possible, Agent. The medical exam will take place in the hospital wing of the Judicial Arcology, the fitness test on the uppermost level track and field, and the target test in the basement."

"Thank you for the explanation sir," Sey'les said with enthusiasm. "Signing my form now—"

"—don't sign that one Agent. I am sending you and Agent Wulf a new form with your new examination date and time now."

"Okay, I will sign that one sir, have a good evening," Sey'les said.

"Have a good evening Agent Sey'les."

Sey'les looked up from her datapad with a smirk. _I got this._

Wulf looked nervous. "Sey'les, I am almost starting to think you should get your head examined."

"Wulf! I am fine," Sey'les snarled. She added with a cautious growl, "besides, we are getting counselling now, you know."

"Think that'll come up on the physical?" Wulf asked.

"Nah."

* * *

Sey'les, Wulf, and Hashtivar rode a transport to the Judicial Arcology together. Sey'les and Wulf both had separate apartments in CoCo Town, but they wanted to see Hashtivar off. It was around time for the sun to set, yet, as usual, the sunset was obscured by the tall buildings. There was almost nowhere on the surface level of Coruscant the sunset was visible from.

"What is that building?" Wulf asked as the shuttle descended near a mess of construction across from the Judicial Plaza.

"That's the new military base," the pilot said.

"I wish I could see out the windows," Hashtivar said sadly, lying in his gurney. Already adjusted to the highest setting, his gurney was just below the window line.

"It's… a lot of new construction," Sey'les said simply. "It looks like a stack of buildings are being built, and around them, a wall and massive landing pads. The _Judicator_ could probably fit on one of them when they are finished. It's amazing."

"The entire Corps of Engineers is working on that and also redesigning the Judicial Arcology into something else. I don't quite know what though," the pilot said.

"When did they start this?" Sey'les asked the pilot.

"Just a week ago," he answered.

"Wow…" Wulf said in awe.

As the shuttle neared the Judicial Arcology, construction was also visible there. It looked as if the Corps of Engineers was adding a new layer of buildings over the Judicial Headquarters, at the same level as the Judicial Hospital and ROCI Headquarters.

"We'll be in the building tomorrow for our physical Hashtivar, but we might not have time to see you," Sey'les said as the shuttle landed. She unhooked Hashtivar's gurney from the wall.

Wulf grabbed the other end of the gurney and started walking backwards, pulling it gently down the ramp.

"Thanks for pushing me," Hashtivar said happily. He looked around at all of the construction as Sey'les pushed the gurney forwards.

While pushing the gurney, Sey'les sniffed the air curiously. Amidst the construction, she could smell sawdust, melting plastic, smoke, and wet paint.

The Corps of Engineers personnel were even present in the hospital, wearing white uniforms with rank pins, ordering civilian construction workers around.

Sey'les and Wulf pushed the gurney towards the reception past multi-species crowds of construction workers in yellow vests and mostly human Corps of Engineers officers.

The reception was staffed by a Twi'lek male and a human female. They both stared at the two Judicials pushing Hashtivar in.

"Can we help you?" the Twi'lek male asked cautiously as if afraid a conspiracy was afoot.

"Yes," Sey'les said. "We are here to transfer Agent Hashtivar from the _Judicator's_ sickbay to here, and have no idea where we are going," she admitted. Her fur swirled with embarrassment.

Hashtivar started roaring with laughter. "The medical droid didn't even give you directions!" he exclaimed.

"All right, I see you on the registrar… okay, wait here for a moment the nurses will let you in," the human female said.

Less than a minute later, three nurses came out, two humans and a Sullustan. The humans took Hashtivar's stretcher and the Sullustan began speaking with Sey'les and Wulf as they followed.

"We are going to the long-term ward," the Sullustan explained. "The medical droid aboard the _Judicator_ deemed Hashtivar's injuries inoperable. He is eligible for full disability, and, actually I should tell Hashtivar this," the Sullustan sighed.

"I can hear you," Hashtivar said.

"Sorry about that, it's been a long day," the Sullustan explained. "You can remain here or transfer to a more comfortable facility if you would like. I expect you will get a medical discharge soon."

"No kidding," Hashtivar replied as they pushed his gurney into an area of the hospital that looked more like an assisted living centre.

The cafeteria had huge windows looking out into the red Coruscanti evening city scape. The Jedi Temple could be seen on the opposite side of the Federal District. Around the cafeteria were some tables with random board games. An elderly human male sat at a table with a Rodian nurse playing Demesne.

"Eventually," the Sullustan said optimistically, "someone should be able to build you a custom wheelchair, and you might even gain some independence."

"When that happens, I think I am going to ride my wheelchair to a ship, and go back to Castilon," Hashtivar said glumly.

"This is your room," the Sullustan said as they arrived at room 782. It had a window facing in the opposite direction as the cafeteria, towards the Senate building.

"Um…" Sey'les paused for a moment to think of what she wanted to say. "Tell me if you need anything Hashtivar and tell me before you go. If you do leave, I would like to say goodbye," she said sadly.

"Tell me too," Wulf murmured, choking back a sniffle.

"I will," Hashtivar said. "You two have been very good to me since Antar 4. Thanks for everything," he said.

Sey'les stopped down and hugged him on his bed.

"Wulf, Sey'les, I don't want you to just forget about me though. I can't expect you to visit me all the time, but maybe at least once or twice a month would be nice," Hashtivar said as he hugged Sey'les back.

"We can manage that for sure, maybe even more often," Sey'les mumbled softly.

* * *

On the maglev train from Federal District Station to the CoCo District, Sey'les and Wulf got a lot more stares than usual. Beings always stared at them because they were Judicials, but this evening it seemed everyone was staring.

Sey'les looked at her reflection in the window and saw her fur—growing back, but still very patchy. She sighed.

"Why does it seem like everyone is staring at us?" Wulf asked cautiously.

"I think because well, our fur," she pointed to their reflections in the window.

"Hmmmm," Wulf said. He sounded like he doubted her explanation, but did not elaborate.

Wulf's stop was the second stop in CoCo District.

"See you in the morning," Sey'les said.

"See you in the morning, Captain," Wulf chuckled.

 _Huh!_ Sey'les paused for a moment, then gasped. _Damn. It is going to be so awkward being a Captain when Wulf is a Lieutenant_ , she thought with horror. _At least Wulf is not starting off as an Ensign._

After getting off the train, Sey'les took the travelator across the avenue towards the block her apartment was on. She could have stood still and just let it move her, but she felt far too lazy doing that and walked on the left side, passing the pedestrians who were standing still on the right.

The sun had submerged beneath the horizon and it was getting dark—dark for Coruscant that is. The fairly bright night-time sky was illuminated by billboards, lights, and trillions of lit windows. On a cloudless night, Sey'les could see, at most, three or four stars in the sky.

Arriving at her apartment complex's main entrance, Sey'les stood before the facial recognition droid.

It scanned her face. "Facial recognition failed! Identify yourself."

Sey'les gasped. "I am Lir Sey'les," she growled nervously.

"Voice recognition successful. Welcome home Lir Sey'les," the droid said.

"Thank you," Sey'les said and walked in.

She heaved her rucksack off her back and found her key card in the top pocket. She swiped it on room three and stepped inside, sniffing the air curiously.

Her room always had such a dusty smell when she left it for a few days. A very… un-lived in smell.

She turned on the lights. Everything was as she left it. The kitchen had clean dishes drying on her rack—actually _dried days ago_ on her rack, her sofa was in front of her HoloTerminal, and her bedroom door was open.

After entering her room, she turned off the living area light and collapsed in her bed.

Her datapad buzzed suddenly. _Who could that be?_ She answered it.

"Sorry Sey'les," Wulf's voice chimed through. "The facial recognition droid doesn't recognise me anymore."

Sey'les could imagine his embarrassed wince from his inflections. "Does it also not recognise your voice?"

"Ours doesn't have that feature," Wulf sighed.

"Ah well, sleep here," Sey'les said simply.

"Are you sure you are okay with that?"

"Yep," Sey'les replied with a grin. _I can make my move._

* * *

Sey'les was lying alone in bed, tugging on her blanket in frustration, nearly ripping it in half. A frustrated toothy snarl was on her face. _How do I get Wulf to sleep with me?!_

Wulf had plopped down on Sey'les's sofa for the night.

Alone in her room, Sey'les could not work up the courage to ask Wulf to sleep with her. She had no idea how to even start. _How do people even do this?_ she thought with increasing frustration. She wondered, _do people even do this? He is my friend. This is weird!_

 _Ugh! What if they put Wulf in another unit! What if he gets on another ship or something?_ Sey'les thought with renewed alarm.

 _Hmmm… I guess he might not be my subordinate then after all_ , she thought more strategically.

 _I need to calm down. It is 2200 and I have to wake up early_. _Besides, I didn't just say it was okay for Wulf to sleep here because of… that. He's my friend, he's on my team, and needs a place to stay_. She stopped pulling on her blanket and instead pulled out her datapad. She clicked on the news icon with her furry finger: **"Link Found between Using Electronics at Night and Insomnia,"** a title read.

Sey'les sighed and put down her datapad. She closed her eyes and, as usual, fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Wulf was taking steady breaths and pacing himself.

Sey'les was panting hard, running ahead of Wulf slowly enough to let him pace off her.

The three-kilometre run was the final portion of the physical fitness test. Wulf and Sey'les had passed the other portions thus far with flying colours. Now, they were on the one-kilometre-long indoor track at one of the upper levels of the Judicial Arcology.

"Okay," Sey'les panted. "Okay Wulf, you're on your own. We're at the last quarter." She began running as hard as she could.

Even though it was painful, hot, and exhausting, somehow feeling the air rush into her face was always exciting. Sey'les ran as fast as she could around the curve, her legs buckling from exhaustion. She took deep snouty breaths into her mouth, then exhaled.

In the last 100 meters she began feeling sick. _Kriff. I gotta finish!_ She ran as fast as she could over the finishing marks, the tester pressed his chronometer.

"9:52.37 Very impressive Agent."

Sey'les stooped down to her knees and vomited. She winced at the bitter taste in her mouth and held her snout open for a moment letting strings of saliva fall to the ground. _Ugh! So gross! Kriff!_

Wulf finished a few seconds later.

"10:02.66, also impressive," the scorer said.

"Sey'les," Wulf gasped, "you shouldn't go so hard. We have a shooting test in thirty minutes."

Wiping off her snout, Sey'les took out her canteen and gulped some water, washing away the bitter taste, ignoring Wulf.

"The 100% score time for 30 to 32-year-old _males_ is ten minutes thirty seconds Sey'les," Wulf said before taking a gulp of water from his own canteen, then doused his head with it. Water dripped from Wulf's head to his shoulders and onto the floor.

"I know," Sey'les gasped. "I just want to be the best or close to it. If we're lucky, I'll be a team leader in some taskforce and I'll be able to pick… well, you." Sey'les's fur swirled nervously. _Will he say yes?_

"Hmmm that would be nice," Wulf replied.

 _Rogue,_ Sey'les thought and smiled. _Of course, he would say yes._

A cleaning droid rolled in, scanned all over the spot Sey'les had vomited on, and started vacuuming and steam rolling it.

"I suggest you both hit the showers," the scorer said. "You have twenty-five minutes."

"All right, we will," Sey'les said and took another gulp of water. Her canteen was now empty.

* * *

"I wonder why they are having us shoot so soon after the run," Wulf pondered aloud, now walking with Sey'les dressed in his Judicial working uniform.

"Probably to see how well we shoot after physical activity," Sey'les replied in a breathy voice as she hit the **"down"** button on the Turbolift.

"You are smiling an awful lot for how tired you look, Sey'les," Wulf said with a smirk.

Sey'les was exhausted. She had pushed herself that hard on physical fitness tests before, but she felt more tired than usual this time. However, to Sey'les's pleasant surprise, they were the only two who were tested at all today. They would be among the very first transfers to the Navy. It was even better than Sey'les had planned. She could not stop smiling. Everything about this day, she sensed, was going to be awesome career-wise. It was a great feeling.

"Wulf, it's just a feeling," she replied simply with a toothy smile as the turbolift doors opened.

They stepped into the turbolift. It was built to fit an entire squad of Judicials at once, and then some. However, Sey'les and Wulf were the only two in it. The turbolift lowered deeper towards the basement level of the Judicial Arcology, where the shooting ranges and indoor combat simulation rooms were.

The doors opened. Sey'les and Wulf stepped out into the training room. This area had no construction going on. Right outside of the turbolift, stood an officer wearing a green dress uniform.

"Greetings Agents, I am Lieutenant Kries, and I will be overseeing your testing today. Your helmets are over there," he pointed behind him to a rack of twelve helmets. "Your blasters are over there," he pointed to another rack.

"Thank you, sir," Sey'les and Wulf both said. Wulf had a serious face, Sey'les's face still wore a smile.

The blue Judicial helmets on the shooting range rack stunk and smelled like human sweat. Sey'les wished she could have brought her own helmet. She cringed uncomfortably as she put one on her head.

"As you are well aware, there are 50 targets. You must hit 27 to pass. Agent Wulf? Would you also like to be recertified for dual wielding?"

"Yes sir," Wulf replied.

"Very well. After your first round of testing, I will record your dual wielding results. Agent Sey'les, you will be on Lane 1, Agent Wulf, you will be on Lane 3," Kries said stiffly.

Sey'les grabbed one DC-17 blaster pistol from the rack, while Wulf grabbed two and put one in his holster. They walked to their lanes.

For the Republic standard shooting qualification, 10 shots were from standing position, then 20 were from kneeling and 20 from prone. For dual wielding, 25 were from standing and 25 were from kneeling.

The targets in their lane were fifty humanoid shapes, situated at various heights. Upon being blasted, each one would fall backwards. To get a perfect score, at the end, there would be none left standing in a firing lane.

Sey'les and Wulf stood still in firing position, with their feet placement in the proper stance.

"Standing portion, three, two, one, begin," Kries said in a very posh Coruscanti accent, trilling his 'r' in _three_.

Sey'les and Wulf fired off all of their shots methodically but quickly, finishing in under seven seconds.

"Kneeling portion, three, two, one, begin."

Unleashing yet more fire, Sey'les and Wulf knocked down many more targets.

After the smoke cleared, Sey'les began counting her targets. _Damn. There are twenty-seven left_. _I am going to miss at least seven_ , she thought glumly.

"Prone portion, three, two, one, begin."

Sey'les and Wulf unleashed another onslaught of fire into their inanimate targets. They fell over with audible clunks.

This time, Sey'les was much slower and aimed very carefully. She did not want to miss a single more target.

"Very good," Kries said. "Agent Sey'les, you got 43/50. Agent Wulf, you got 47/50, most impressive!"

"Thank you, sir," Wulf said with a smile.

Sey'les had scored high enough for sharpshooter, but she had lost the expert qualification she earned for the first time last year. She forced herself to calm down and said professionally "thank you, sir."

"Sorry about that Sey'les, you were only two off," Wulf said turning to her with a wince.

"It's all right, congrats," Sey'les said with a smile as she left the shooting lanes. She put her blaster back in its holster, her stinky public helmet that smelled of human sweat back on its rack, then sat down on a bench behind the shooting range.

"Standing dual wielding portion, three, two, one, begin."

Wulf started blasting away targets with two his arms. As he always did, he used his top two arms to shoot the twenty nearest targets, then, grabbed his blaster on the left top arm with his right bottom arm to shoot the targets further away, using both of his right arms. Doing this, he was able to use his pistol's sights. It was an unfair advantage Ardennians had, but not officially against the Republic's rules.

Sey'les grinned toothily, unaware that she was completely zoned out.

"Agent Sey'les?" a male voice asked suddenly.

Sey'les snapped out of it and jumped up, standing at attention. "Yes sir?" she asked a brown-haired human male with sharp facial features. He was wearing a dark green Naval uniform with a Commander rank.

"Good to meet you. I am Commander Tarkin. You can call me 'Governor' though."

Sey'les blinked a couple of times in shock. Her fur swirled with intense suspicion. _Governor? Who the kriff does this guy think he is!?_ "All right _Governor_. Yes, Governor?" she asked in a question.

"I am most impressed with you and Wulf. If you would like Agent, I am developing a third shooting range for the express purpose of testing officer's abilities to handle new situations and weapons."

"I would be honoured to Governor," Sey'les said with a smile.

Sey'les could now hear Kries saying "Very good job Wulf! That is a new personal best. I have never even seen anyone score 45/50 dual-wielding."

Wulf walked off the range with an extremely cocky Ardennian grin that screamed _I am awesome._ Somehow, it made him even more attractive. If Tarkin were not standing there, Sey'les probably would have drooled.

"Hey Wulf," Sey'les yelled excitedly. "Come meet _Governor_ Tarkin," Sey'les said.

"Governor?" Wulf asked as he put his helmet away. "Nice to meet you Commander," Wulf said as he approached.

"Nice to meet you too Agent. Call me _Governor_ ," Tarkin insisted.

"Okay, nice to meet you Governor," Wulf said.

After Tarkin turned away and headed for the turbolift, Sey'les and Wulf followed.

Wulf gave Sey'les an exasperated expression that said _who the hell does this Commander think he is?_

Sey'les suppressed a giggle, forced her snout shut, and breathed furiously through her nose.

"You know Sey'les, I was taught how to fly a snubfighter by two Bothan pilots," Tarkin remarked as he hit the down button.

"That's pretty rogue," Sey'les said. "But Governor, we are on the lowest level of the arcology," Sey'les said.

"Rogue indeed," Tarkin said, turning to Sey'les with a smirk. "One of the Bothans used to say that too. As for your other comment—not anymore Agent. The corps of engineers finished this under level two nights ago and stocked it with flora this morning."

"Flora?" Sey'les asked curiously.

The turbolift opened into a steamy, dark, horribly hot, mucky jungle. Steam billowed into the turbolift. Sey'les gasped and started panting, letting her tongue hang out a little. The plants smelled like jungle, but the soil smelled very fresh and earthy, like the soil of a farm, not like a natural jungle's mucky soil. The ceiling was extremely high, at least 100 meters from the floor allowing for many tall trees.

Like the shooting course, it had a rack of blasters, but these were a type of blaster rifle Sey'les had never seen. The helmets on the other rack were dark green instead of blue.

"Welcome to the new qualification course," Tarkin said with a smirk.

"Thank you, Governor," Sey'les panted.

Wulf chuckled a little bit and sighed at Sey'les. "Governor, what is a this exactly?" Wulf asked curiously.

"It the qualification course for 'Rangers'—what I like to call the Navy's Direct Action Operatives," Tarkin said. "I hope the name sticks, mind you. I will tell you more, assuming you pass. If you are successful, you two will be the third and fourth to pass so far."

"Thank you for the opportunity Governor," Sey'les panted, her fur swirling fearfully. For the first time today, she was worried. _Blast this humidity! If I fail it is because Tarkin couldn't keep the temperature to a sensible level._

"You are most welcome Agent," Tarkin said with a wry grin.

To Sey'les, his grin screamed _let's see how a Bothan handles this heat and humidity, shall we?_

"The way this works," Tarkin explained, "is much like the target course upstairs. However, you will each move through your lane, clearing obstacles as you get into position to hit your targets. Some of your obstacles will give you non-lethal, but painful, electric shocks. Suffer more than three shocks, and you fail. Like the normal shooting course, you must hit 27 to pass."

Sey'les gulped nervously. _Electric shocks?! This Tarkin guy is insane._

"Each lane is divided by blast-proof windows so do not be afraid to shoot targets on the sides," Tarkin added.

"Sey'les," Wulf said in a whisper as he grabbed his long blaster rifle equipped with a shoulder strap.

"Yes?" she whispered cautiously.

"Don't forget to climb," he said as he pointed to nets that looked like they were for climbing.

"I won't," she panted, slipping her rifle over her shoulder.

"This qualification, unlike the normal course, is not divided into standing, kneeling, and prone. When you identify a target, you can go into whatever position you like to shoot it. You have ten minutes to complete your lane. Any questions?"

Sey'les and Wulf both silently stood there, wearing their blue Judicial uniforms and green Naval helmets, rifles slung over their shoulders.

"Good," Tarkin said. "Three, two, one…" he paused dramatically as if for effect. "Begin."

Sey'les stepped into her lane. She could make out a trip wire in front of her and cautiously stepped over it. There were eight targets in a baby Wroshyr tree. Sey'les methodically shot all eight while standing, aiming her blaster rifle carefully, one with each shot.

_This is definitely the weirdest course I have been on._

Walking through the jungle, Sey'les encountered a Kuvara tree on her left covered in fruit. She sniffed the air curiously and hungrily, took a step towards it and—

—an intense pain flared up on her belly, every bit as painful as being burned. "AAAHHHHH!" she shrieked and fell backwards to her buttocks, tears welling in her eyes. "SHASSA!" she snarled angrily staring at the electric wire in front of her.

"Sey'les?! Are you all right?" Wulf asked, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

"Yeah," Sey'les croaked back. "Shassa that hurts!"

"Okay well, watch out," Wulf suggested simply.

Sey'les heard some dinging noises from overhead. Wulf was shooting targets… _on the ceiling?_

Sey'les looked up. There were eleven targets over her head. _Tarkin, you sneaky bastard_ , she thought. Sey'les laid down on her back and pointed her blaster rifle up at the ceiling and started firing. She wasted one shot, hitting all eleven with twelve shots.

Looking to her left and right, she realised she had missed some targets in the bushes. She quickly shot at those and continued on more cautiously. Occasionally, a nearly invisible, spiderweb-like electric wire would cross her path. Sey'les would duck under it or step over them. Twice more she also encountered trip wires.

Now that she knew to look in every direction, she was hitting targets more often. Eventually, she encountered the tree with a net. Her arms and legs felt sore from the push-ups and three-click run she had done earlier, but she climbed, panting more heavily. As she climbed into the top, branches and leaves kept bopping her snout and nose. Finally, she cleared the canopy.

To her dismay, the air at the top of the tree was even hotter and more humid than on the ground. From this angle, she could see the fences dividing the lanes, and in the tops of the lower trees, dozens of more targets. She knelt down and fired at them. Hitting targets positioned below her was actually something she had never had to do. She wasted a few shots and her blaster ran out of charges with three targets still standing in the trees below.

As Sey'les climbed down the tree, she wondered how she had done. She knew that she had hit enough to pass certainly, but probably missed ten of fifteen in the bushes.

Wulf was already waiting at the end with Tarkin.

Tarkin had sweat on his forehead but was handling the heat much better than Sey'les.

Wulf did not seem bothered by it at all. It seemed to be a perfectly comfortable environment for the Ardennian.

"Very good, you both passed," Tarkin said with a smirk. "Wulf, you got 45/50 with no shocks and are only being who has scored Expert. You are also the only being to escape this course without a single shock, Sey'les… you got 36/50 with one shock. You both passed. Welcome to the Rangers," he said extending a handshake.

"Thank you, Governor," they Sey'les and Wulf both replied, each shaking his hand.

Sey'les's fur relaxed. Despite her uncomfortableness, despite her fear, she had done what she came here to do— _get an awesome leadership position and keep Wulf_.

"So, Governor, we are called 'Rangers' now not Agents?" Sey'les panted, her open snout giving a toothy smile.

"Yes, Captain Sey'les," Tarkin replied.

Sey'les stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth as if to taste what 'Captain Sey'les' sounded like. _Hmmmm I guess not bad sounding._

"I am putting both of you on my newly formed Ranger squad: Ranger Team 2. Sey'les, you will be team leader. For the next two weeks, we will be mostly doing paperwork. You both know the inside of the Judicial Department fairly well. I have not been a Judicial for over a decade. I want both of you to come up with some Judicials we can trust. I already have another Ranger on Ranger Team 1, also sifting through recruits. Unlike most Rangers, our taskforce—Ranger Teams 1 and 2, myself, and numerous civilians and members of the corps of Engineers, will be working directly with the Chancellor's Strategic Advisory Cell."

"What's the Strategic Advisory Cell, Governor?" Wulf asked curiously.

"Lieutenant, it is a joint Naval-Civilian-Corps of Engineers taskforce. Part of our taskforce advises the Senate, another gathers information, another is redesigning all of the military and judicial complexes on Coruscant to prepare for conflict, and there is a fourth taskforce, Captain Sey'les, you are familiar with this are you not?"

"Oh yes Governor," Sey'les panted breathily. "That poster of me you saw? Director Byno Doubton is making stuff that spins the Republic positively. It's like a human version of Bothan profamat," she said.

"We call it propaganda," Tarkin said wryly. "Profamat though? Hmm an amusingly Bothan way to describe it. Yes, Byno Doubton is my cousin actually."

Sey'les continued panting and looked down at the ground.

"All right Bothan, let's get you to the nice air-conditioned lift," Tarkin said with a smirk.

"Thank you, Governor," Sey'les said, her fur swirling with embarrassment and dancing with excitement.

Wulf chuckled.

Sey'les followed them back to the turbolift. Before they arrived, she came to a stunning realisation so curious that it broke her smile and gave her a serious face: _Tarkin never laughs. Tarkin literally never laughs._ _What type of guy never laughs, ever?_

* * *

"You are working for that monster Tarkin?!" Hashtivar exclaimed with shock.

"Monster?" Sey'les asked in a concerned voice.

"Geez, you need to read more!" Hashtivar exclaimed.

"Geez, you need to read more _Captain_ or _ma'am_ ," Sey'les growled cautiously.

After swearing in an hour ago, Sey'les and Wulf had already dressed into their new green Naval uniforms with officer pendants on their fronts. Wulf wore a Lieutenant rank, Sey'les wore Captain.

"I got discharged from the Judicial forces this morning _ma'am_ ," Hashtivar replied. "Haha! Sorry Sey'les, I just realised you now are the same rank as Captain Ozzel!"

Wulf started laughing.

"I suppose that might be funny," Sey'les said. She did not want the topic to change. "But back on topic, I got very weird vibes from Tarkin. What do you know about him?"

"Wilhuff Tarkin, ma'am, is a human from Eriadu. He formed this death squad called the 'Outland Regions Security Forces,' with the help of some Bothans, by the way—"

—Sey'les gasped. "He did say he was trained by Bothans…"

"Exactly, anyways, typical Bothan job," Hashtivar said with dark cynicism. "A couple of idiots from Clan Askar popped into a backwater Mid-Rim world and dropped some export-model Boola Carbines to a group of humans. Clan Otrek sent some advisors there and taught them how to fly Y-Wings. Why? Because there were some pirates. The pirates were terrorising wide swaths the mid-rim, but the reason Clan Otrek trained these humans is that the pirates were bothering, well… No offence, _you guys_ ma'am, and you Bothans didn't want to deal with the pirates yourselves and couldn't hire bounty hunters."

Sey'les did not like where this story was going.

"These humans were the Tarkin family, their servants, and a loads of Eriaduan lackeys. After rising through the ranks, Wilhuff Tarkin led this group of thugs, most of whom were his cousins, to fight the pirates. At the time, the Republic Judicial Forces were tied up with an ongoing crisis in the Dressel System," Hashtivar explained. "The Outland Security Forces did some really kriffed up things, and Wilhuff Tarkin was responsible for some of the worst atrocities." Hashtivar paused, and then began counting a list of crimes on his three-fingered hand. "I am talking summary executions, mass executions, burning beings alive in cargo containers thrown into stars. The Tarkins are bad news Sey'les. I am proud of you and Wulf, Captain, but you two really need to take care of each other and watch each other's backs."

Sey'les gulped nervously and stared wide eyed into a space on the wall over Hashtivar's bed. _What the kriff did I get myself and Wulf involved in?!_

"That does sound messed up," Wulf said in an even voice. "But Hashtivar, we aren't pirates. I don't think Tarkin is out to get _us_. And also, he was very impressed with us."

"I suppose you are right," Hashtivar agreed waving his hand dismissively.

Sey'les sighed. "You're both right. We aren't Tarkin's enemies. That doesn't mean I like working for him, and Wulf, I am sorry I got you—"

"—are you kidding Captain? This sounds like it is going to be fun, and we got a pay raise, psychopathic boss or not," Wulf replied sternly, folding all four of his arms.

"All right, still though, we need to stay on Tarkin's—Governor Tarkin's—good side," Sey'les muttered.

"Yeah seriously," Hashtivar said. "Watch out for each other. I'm paralysed. I can't vicariously live through your drama if you're dead in a ditch."

"That's not funny Hashtivar," Sey'les growled.


	31. Zuro Pax

Alpheridies

Pax was well enough to leave the hospital and venture back into Fospolis if he wanted. However, he still needed to make use of his doctor-patient confidentiality.

After receiving a holomessage that instructed him to send further communications to a Murkhana number, Pax was now dictating his third message through the medical droid.

"I agree that de-escalation is the best thing. I will not do anything for the Separatists that escalates the conflict further. And no, tell the Commerce Guild there is no way I am joining the Republic Navy as a double agent. I would sooner turn myself in and rot in jail than put myself through that. This morning I already declined my offer to serve as a Captain in the Republic Navy. My decision is absolutely final."

"Very well patient Zuro Pax, I am glad you sound so much more lucid today. Is there anything you want to add in your message to your family?" the medical droid asked.

"No, I think that is it doc. Oh wait…" Pax gasped. He put his thumb on his attempting to remember something he had forgotten. "Yeah, I got one more thing. Add this: I am shipping back to Coruscant tomorrow evening, Federal District Time. I have a secure Wookiee-built HoloNet terminal in my apartment and will call you back from there."

"Finished. Playing back the recording now," the droid said in a matter of fact tone.

* * *

"Need to know Pax? That's a shabload of nonsense," Carver groaned. "I know you were telling the truth about Yarua now. Why don't you just tell me?"

Carver and Pax were the only ones in the hospital cafeteria.

The kitchen was closed, and Pax was eating a frozen meat pie from a vending machine that he heated up in the public oven. He was also, once again, wearing his wide-brimmed Duros hat that clashed with his white hospital gown.

"Honestly, I don't have anything solid from them yet," Pax sighed. "I have told them that I want to be involved in de-escalation."

"De-escalation? De-escalation Pax! That doesn't sound like it will pay much!" Carver yelled.

Pax laughed. "Really? You think the business interests of the Galaxy want the Republic kicking down their doors?"

"Yeah but how could someone like me help with de-escalation? And will it pay enough?"

"I have no idea," Pax said simply, taking another bite of the spicy but stale crust. "Yarua pays well," he mumbled with food in his mouth.

"Kriff Yarua—"

"—I hear he is looking for a Coruscanti human to marry one of his granddaughters. If you don't mind her having sharp teeth and being a whole meter taller than you—"

"—that's not funny Pax," Carver said sternly.

"I'm serious. If you lose your tattoos, you could become a rich Wookiee househusband," Pax tried saying with a straight face, but broke down laughing. "Hey, when Yarua croaks, maybe she'll inherit the Senate seat. You could even be on your own HoloNet show: Desperate House Husband of Kachirho."

Carver started laughing a bit.

"I don't think you understand though," Pax said, returning to a serious tone. "I want out. I don't want in deeper than I already am. I want a big windfall and maybe a cushy corporate desk job. Hell, maybe you should be there next time I talk to the Koorivar. Maybe you could get a separate deal. You also need to understand, there is a chance they will never offer anything reasonable. In that case, I'll just quit without a windfall, and end up hauling freight or something—who knows."

"Pax—" Carver started angrily with clenched teeth, a vein visibly pulsing on his forehead.

"—Carver, this never was a guarantee. You caught me, I'm corrupt, wohoo," Pax said cynically, raising his hands in mock surrender. "It doesn't mean the universe is gonna hand me something, and then you will be able to be in on it for money."

Carver cautiously looked around the hospital dining room again, checking to see if anyone had entered.

"I will try to get you… something," Pax promised vaguely.

Carver sighed and said nothing.

Pax's datapad began ringing. He looked around the room cautiously. It was an Alpheridies number, but as he had discovered before, it could be anyone. It was an audio-only call.

Carver glared at Pax. "ANSWER IT!" he yelled.

Pax sighed and accepted the call.  
"Hey Pax," Oc'nel's baritone Bothan growl came through. "How are things at the hospital? Jazal said you are doing better."

Pax nearly gasped in shock. He expected anyone else. "Hey Oc'nel. Yeah. I am doing much better, thanks for asking. How is the hike?"

"Hike?" Carver asked.

Jazal could be heard sighing in the background.

"Oh, hey Carver!" Oc'nel said with a nervous laugh. "It's great. I met some Miralukas today. One was a lawyer, we talked to them for an hour and have no idea what they look like."

Pax laughed.

"I haven't seen anything all day except once I saw lightning," Oc'nel said.

"Sounds… very boring," Carver muttered bluntly with a smirk, looking down at the datapad.

"No Carver, it's really exciting!" Oc'nel insisted. "It's like being in a dark room with no light, except there are plant-analogs, beings to talk to, and you can walk for kilometres. A few minutes ago, I pet a Meekash. It turned out I was accidentally petting its buttocks, but Jazal guided me to its head."

Carver and Pax started roaring with laughter. Oc'nel laughed along.

"What the kriff is a Meekash?!" Carver asked.

"It's a type of Alpheridies mammal that eats ground insects. Smells musky and has fur—I have no idea if it has anything else going for it."

"All right Oc'nel, on the serious front," Pax started, "have you gotten your GRL-6-7-1?"

"I don't know Pax, I can't see."

"Well, I did, and I am going to turn down my offer to commission in the Republic Navy," Pax sighed.

"All right, sorry to hear that," Oc'nel said.

Oc'nel sounded far less sad than Pax would have predicted. _I am giving up on my career. Where's the bitchy Bothan whiny growl?!_ He wanted to scream: _Beg me to stay, you kriffing asshole!_ Pax began adjusting his hat uncomfortably.

Carver sounded like he was curious to gauge Oc'nel's reaction. "I think I am quitting too," he said.

"Oh no! Not you too," Oc'nel yelled insincerely.

Pax rolled his eyes and Carver frowned. They could both hear his excited smile. _Oc'nel is the worst liar in the entire galaxy._

* * *

Jazal

Jazal could remember Master Poof's voice: _"Stay out of the business of others. While scientific curiosity is sometimes a difficult thing to ignore, if you intrude on other's business, you build distrust."_ She had violated that teaching throughout her life and at least a hundred times since meeting Oc'nel.

Now that she knew how to read his fur, even when she was not intentionally reaching out to the Bothan, it was nonstop bombardment of emotional information, unless he was soaked or relatively calm. Not only was Oc'nel a bad liar, but during the call with Pax, his fur danced excitedly then relaxed and flopped down after Pax said he was quitting.

"Itoll, I know it's none of my business, but you seem _relieved_ at the prospect of Pax and Carver quitting."

Oc'nel sighed. "I like Pax—"

— _he is telling the truth._

"—I think Carver's an asshole. I care about him and don't want him to get hurt but I don't like him very much—"

— _still telling the truth._

"—I just think Pax needs to find a different career. He really is bad at this. He won't be cut out for the Navy," Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously.

_He's lying_.

"Why are you lying?"

Oc'nel gulped. "Jazal…"

"I know it's none of my business, but now that I understand your… fur, it makes me uncomfortable being with you if you are dishonest, Bothan," she explained in a frank tone. "You and I well… I want to trust you implicitly."

She heard Oc'nel roll over in his sleeping bag to face her.

"Okay, I feel guilty about the reason why I want Pax to quit, that's all," Oc'nel sighed.

_He's telling the truth. His nervous swirls slowed to guilt._

"Well, if you don't want to tell me, that's all right then," Jazal consolingly and scooted her sleeping bag closer to his. "In any case, I promise I won't judge you. In case you didn't notice, I have a very open mind."

"Okay," Oc'nel said slowly, his fur relaxed. "I feel that… well… I feel guilty and stressed when I go through long periods without getting a promotion," he sighed.

"That's all right," Jazal said as she touched the top of his head and began scratching his fur. "So, you think Pax was preventing you from being promoted?"

"Maybe," he replied, fur swirling, now conveying suspicion. "Also, if he quits, that's another leadership opening for me in the Navy," he said with a bright smile.

Oc'nel's Bothan smile, in this context, seemed rather savage to Jazal and took her aback. _I said I wasn't going to judge,_ she reminded herself. _Although…_ "Itoll, would you like to try to another mind-probe?"

"Sure!" He rolled onto his stomach and waited expectantly. The fur on his neck stood up and then flopped down with excitement. "Can I try probing you back this time?"

"That was the idea," Jazal said.

* * *

"Jazal?" Oc'nel whined. "Why do we keep looking at memories of my accomplishments?"

Jazal held her right hand firmly on the side of his head. "To be honest, your reaction to Pax earlier made me a bit… concerned."

"I thought you weren't going to judge me!" Oc'nel growled.

"I'm not. I just want to see well… how you balance loyalty, respect, and ambition as a Bothan," Jazal said in her most consoling voice.

"All right," Oc'nel breathed in an exasperated sigh.

"Honestly, is there anyone in the whole Galaxy you look up to now, that you've left Bothan Space?"

Jazal saw images of herself; memories of her smashing ships with asteroids, memories of her saying complicated-sounding things Oc'nel did not actually remember correctly, but him being impressed; memories of her navigating the Jedi political field and ending up exactly where she is now.

"ME?!" Jazal yelled.

"Yeah," Oc'nel smiled. "Congratulations, you win first prize. It's also why I don't like it when you well… seem unimpressed with me."

Jazal nuzzled his wet nose with her nose then pulled back and wiped her nose dry. _Yuck_. "I am not unimpressed—"

"—airheaded?!" Oc'nel growled cautiously.

"There are impressive guys who are airheaded," Jazal said with a chuckle.

Oc'nel's fur swirled with embarrassment.

"I really am flattered though, Itoll," Jazal sighed. "Back on topic though… I am actually not sure if beings who can reverse a mind-probe are necessarily force-sensitive, or if some non-force sensitives can do it."

"Reverse a mind-probe?" Oc'nel asked curiously.

"Yep. What I want you to do is feel my presence, then push back."

"AAAHHHH! OUCH!" Oc'nel's winced in pain.

"NO! Itoll, I didn't say resist and fight me, I said push back. I mean, that might work, but it'll feel unpleasant. Just relax again Bothan," Jazal said soothingly. "Do you feel my presence?"

"Yeah…" Oc'nel said in a croak.

"Push back, _gently_. The goal is not to force me out of your mind but to move our connection to within my brain. If it doesn't work, it's—"

Jazal gasped and involuntarily experienced a memory of one of the Jedi rules. _Use the Force to satisfy the will of the Force—not to satisfy your own curiosity._

"Hey," Oc'nel said, "you aren't supposed to use the Force to satisfy your curiosity!"

"Yeah," Jazal said slyly. "You caught me. How did we end up in this memory though? I guess perhaps I am feeling guilty and this is dominating my subconscious thoughts," she thought aloud.

"I dunno what I'm doing at all," Oc'nel said, his fur swirling with embarrassment.

"You are doing good Itoll," Jazal winced as she felt his clumsy presence poking around her frontal lobe. "What I wanted you to experience though is the force and force sight since I've seen with your Bothan eyes. Perhaps we could at least find memories of me using—"

Oc'nel's growly baritone voice echoed in her mind. _What other Jedi rules are we breaking Master?_

A memory of another Jedi Rule: _I wear my robe so that I am warm, I carry my lightsaber so that I am safe, and I keep enough credits for my next meal so that I am not hungry. If the Force wants me to have more, it finds a way of letting me know._ Jazal realised, in alarm, the Bothan could discover everything.

"Bothan," Jazal yelled, letting go of Oc'nel's head. "You are in my mind at my leisure. I searched your memories with your consent and cooperation. I expect the same curtesy from you. This is supposed to be consensual, not an interrogation."

"Sorry," Oc'nel growled nevously, his fur swirling with guilt. "I am sorry. I didn't realise what I was doing. I was curious, but I did not know that well… I was compelling you to show me things," Oc'nel said with renewed wince.

"It's all right. Itoll, let's take a break."

"If you don't mind my asking, how is it that you are violating the second Jedi—"

"—DO YOU…" Jazal interrupted.

"Jazal, I am just trying to ask a question," Oc'nel sighed and laid his head on his pillow. "I just want to know how you break that rule because I am curious. You don't have to be—"

"—do you want to have sex?" Jazal interrupted again, this time more certain as to how to make Oc'nel forget what he saw in her memories.

"Outside! Really?" Oc'nel asked, lifting his head from the pillow. His fur swirled nervously and spiked up excitedly.

_All right, the Bothan is a bit of an airhead_. _Good!_ "Yep, that's what I mean," Jazal said with a triumphant smirk.

* * *

It had been several hours since they had woken up and crossed the Yasek river. The temperature increased the closer to Fospolis they walked. Jazal could sense the flatter landscape, and without the rain obscuring Oc'nel's sense of hearing, he could now walk carefully behind Jazal without her constantly holding his hand.

"Don't worry Itoll, I don't sense any obstructions on the path," Jazal said confidently as Oc'nel slowed down slightly.

A breeze picked up, rustling the leaves of the tree-analogs overhead. Oc'nel slowed to a stop and Jazal took his hand.

"Sorry Jazal, I can't hear my echoes when that happens."

"It's all right," Jazal replied. "You've only been doing this for a day. Are you still feeling all right?"

"I do feel like I am missing… being able to see things, but—" he clenched Jazal's a bit tighter as he accidentally scraped his boot on the dirt, "—I think I can definitely go a few more hours. Honestly, I think I could go days," he said more confidently.

"Well, we don't have days," Jazal chuckled. "Do you feel any claustrophobia at all Itoll?"

"Claustrophobia? No, not really," he said.

"Why I ask is, some sighted sentients get claustrophobic when they can't see anything for a while. Even if there is space around them, they don't feel like there is," Jazal explained.

"I used to get agoraphobia… pretty much the opposite, as you know. This darkness though really doesn't scare me at all," Oc'nel's fur was blowing slightly in the breeze, but was otherwise still.

"Hmm I wonder if your people had a bit of natural selection away from claustrophobia from generations of living indoors and under domes…" Jazal thought aloud. "Anyways, it is definitely reassuring. I actually packed you a set of HoloGoggles in case you got a bit stir crazy."

"That was thoughtful," Oc'nel said with a smile.

The breeze slowed down and Oc'nel let go of Jazal's hand.

"On another topic," Oc'nel growled cautiously, "Jedi Rules…"

Jazal froze and Oc'nel walked into her.

"Oooof!"

"Sorry," Oc'nel winced.

_I thought he forgot! Damn._ "It's all right," Jazal said. "I just don't want you in my personal business."

"Oh no, that wasn't what I was going to ask about," he said, following Jazal's footsteps when she began walking again. "Although, for your future information, sex is not an 'off' button for my brain," he chuckled.

Jazal sighed, "I am sorry about—"

"—It's fine," Oc'nel interrupted. Jazal sensed, an annoying cocky toothy grin form on his face. "But I wanted to ask for a while… I get that Averross embarrassed the Jedi Order, committed vandalism, and negligently used his weapon injuring people. I get the legal reasons for why Averross was in the wrong, and you explained to me that Jedi don't usually get drunk," Oc'nel paused for a moment searching for how to phrase his next question. "What specific Jedi Code rules did he break? What rules are there forbidding a Jedi from… well… getting in a bar fight in a cantina, with a lightsaber?"

Jazal sighed. "Specifically, there is a rule 'If Jedi ignite their lightsabers, they must be ready to take a life.' Obviously, it does not apply to training situations, emergency uses as a tool, and a few other exceptions like that. I gather that Averross, however, was using his lightsaber to show off. There is also a whole chapter with quotes about 'conquering recklessness' Itoll."

"You are still really angry at Averross," Oc'nel noted.

"A Jedi controls their anger," Jazal said sternly. "I am upset with him sure. I am upset that the council even put him in charge of this mission."

_Conquer recklessness. Ironic that the Jedi Council itself makes such reckless decisions,_ Jazal mused to herself. _Even keeping Averross around… ugh. Focus on the path._

* * *

Oc'nel had been panting non-stop for the last hour. They still had two hours to go until they crossed back into Fospolis. The trail was still relatively smooth, the terrain was flat, but the temperature was ten degrees hotter than when they had first landed.

"I wish it would rain again," he panted.

"I sense that you still have two canteens full of water, and I have three," Jazal said sternly.

"Oh that's not what I mean. I mean—"

Jazal ignored what he was saying and unclipped her third canteen from a carabiner on her belt. She unscrewed the lid and tipped it over the hot Bothan's head interrupting him. The funky smell of wet Bothan filled the air.

"Hey!" he began snarling angily, then changed his mind. "Oh, thanks," he smiled.

"No problem," Jazal replied. "We will be passing over the Yasek river again."

"Swimming?" Oc'nel asked. His fur danced with excitement.

"Nope, but you can splash your head and refill your canteens again," Jazal explained. "I want to get to Fospolis on time."

"On time for what?" Oc'nel asked.

"On time for when I promised everyone we would be there," Jazal said sternly. "Also, being early would allow us to prepare better for any unexpected happenings. We have lots of people on this planet right now and some of them may have gotten lost or—"

"—caught in other bar fights," Oc'nel agreed. "Yeah I understand."

"Do you really think anyone else is going to get into a bar fight?" Jazal asked in a slightly worried voice.

"No, but as you said… we can prepare for the unexpected."

Jazal sensed a few large boulders ahead, the only obstruction between where they stood and the horizon. The path weaved to the right and around them.

"Follow me, the path is turning—"

"—HEY!" Oc'nel yelled suddenly.

"You startled me," Jazal admitted.

"Sorry, I just… I can see something!" Oc'nel pointed excitedly in the direction of Fospolis.

"I suspect it's the space elevator," Jazal said calmly. "I cannot sense it yet myself. What does it look like?"

"Yeah, it's probably the space elevator," Oc'nel breathed in a panty but excited voice. "It has flashing lights going up from the horizon and disappearing into the clouds."

"See Bothan, we are nearly there… just a little under two standard hours." After more than a day on the trail, two hours would be nothing.

"How did Miraluka used to tell time?" Oc'nel asked curiously into the darkness.

"We didn't."

"Oh."


	32. Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

Exasperation. If Sey'les wanted to describe the feeling, that would be the word. She was dreaming once again, but this time, knew she was dreaming. This made the experience thoroughly exasperating.

Sey'les opened her eyes and everything was the wrong colour. Everything looked like it had a blue filter over it. There was no _lilakul_ or _vadikul_ anywhere between where she was standing and the horizon or between where she was standing and the tree line. The only _dubkul_ she could see was on a mangled beach sign and it looked off—far closer to the colour of the Ocean than what it should be. The Ocean—she was standing in it and her head was further off the ground than it should be. Around her were thousands of Wookiees wading in the water. More were sprinting from the Wroshyr trees towards the water screaming in terror.

Most bafflingly, the Wroshyr trees were the wrong colour. The bark was still its magnificent brown, albeit slightly off, but the leaves were barely any different-coloured than the sand.

The water was oddly still. The only splashes were from the panicking Wookiees.

Sniffing the air, she could smell mostly just Ocean and Wookiees but everything smelled duller. Then, it started to rain. This rain smelled like… pepper, or perhaps garlic. To her Bothan senses, it smelled dangerous—yet she had learned while living on Coruscant, a dangerous but edible smell. Humans ate spicy things that smelled dangerous regularly.

 _Kriff me! Not another kriffing dream with smells_ , Sey'les thought. She rolled her eyes. _WAKE UP!_ Nothing happened.

Curious as to how she was so tall, Sey'les looked down. She could see her wet shaggy fur a reflection of a yellow-eyed Wookiee face staring back at her from the water and— _holy shtak I am male._

The spicy-smelling rain came down harder. Sey'les curiously stuck out her tongue. It did not taste spicy but entirely chemical, and it was sticky. She tried spitting it out and it was very difficult. Her Wookiee mouth began building up saliva in an effort to expel it.

 _"Logash! Oh na shwerya!_ " [Logash! Don't mess around!]A huge Wookiee male yelled approaching her wading in the water with loud splashes.

Sey'les did not understand the first word. Her Shyriiwook was passable in a pinch, but not fluent. _"Sharghug. Logash? Egh na shyrii mawyen."_ [Sorry. Logash? I don't speak well,]Sey'les asked in her most polite voice, hoping the Wookiee would understand.

The Wookiee punched her in the face with the hardest blow she had ever experienced in her life.

 _"AAGGHH!"_ Sey'les snarled angrily. " _Wa rrra kriwh?!"_ She tried yelling _what the kriff_ in basic and that was all that came out. She grabbed the Wookiee, pulled his fur, and tried pushing his face into the water. He screamed in a panic and he and another Wookiee suddenly attacked her.

The two pulled her fur viciously and dunked her face into the water. Sey'les screamed in her low male Wookiee yell, bubbles emitting furiously from her mouth. They pulled her out.

 _"GHENUGH!"_ [ENOUGH!] an elderly Wookiee screamed. _"Yakosh ga rirash mi Logash!"_ [Something is wrong with Logash.]He pointed towards the many Wookiee families with children on the beach and screamed to the two Wookiees " _Oh-rargh uharrgh nyrr-rargh!"_ [Help them!]

Sey'les, still taking deep breaths after being temporarily dunked, came to the realisation that she is Logash, or at least, she must be in his body. The two Wookiees who had attacked her left her alone and bolted to the beach against the tide of Wookiees entering the water.

 _What the kriff is going on?_ Sey'les wondered once she had calmed down.

The spicy rain began falling harder. A supersonic boom echoed out of sight in the clouds and a bright light started that became more and more intense. It became frighteningly bright and the contrast of all of the clouds disappeared in a terrifying white light.

The elderly Wookiee stood next to her moaning in a worried growl.

Suddenly a white smoke fell down on the forest, spreading through the rain, along with a smoky smell. The air became terrifyingly hot.

Wookiees in every direction screamed. The ones on the beach disappeared into the mist.

For the second time in her life, Sey'les felt like she was on fire. The smoke and steam drew closer. She screamed and a painful burning sensation spread from her fur to her mouth and throat.

"AAAHHHH!" Sey'les screamed, waking up. She could almost taste the Wookiee death in her dry mouth. "Gah! Kriff me!" she said in a breathy pant.

"KRIFF!" the grey daylight shone into her window. She looked at her chronometer: 0933. _I don't have time to dry off from a shower!_

It was a weekend so Sey'les did not have work today, but she had an appointment in less than an hour and a meeting after that. She opened her drawers, pulled out a set of tan cargo pants, a maroon long-sleeve shirt, and slipped them on. On her way out the door she grabbed a tan trench-coat off her coat rack.

* * *

It was Sey'les's second session with Commander Vasa Ro'val. As of a little over two weeks since the creation of the Navy, Vasa Ro'val was the only Bothan psychiatrist in the Navy. Master Allie had specifically referred Sey'les to her.

Once again, the topic of discussion had devolved into Sey'les's dreams.

"So, the colours were wrong this time? What do you mean Lir?" Vasa Ro'val, the short, brown and grey furred, elderly Bothan with grey head-hair asked. She was wearing a white lab coat with a commander's insignia. To Sey'les's annoyance, Vasa Ro'val was trying to be on first-name terms with Sey'les, despite out-ranking her.

"Well, ma'am," Sey'les paused. "I could not see… _lilakul, vadikul,_ or most of _dubkul,"_ she answered, listing three of the Bothan colours in the purple shades. Sey'les looked over Ro'val's head as she often did. Over Ro'val's head sat three plaques, each contained a different degree.

"Lir, how do you know there just weren't any objects that were… _plum, purple,_ and _Byzantium_ —there are basic words for those. How do you know there just weren't any objects in those colours?" Ro'val typed away on her datapad, taking notes.

Sey'les found it very annoying when other Bothans corrected her basic. "It wasn't just a lack of _lįląkųl, vądhįkųl,_ and _dhųbhkųl,_ " she growled the Bothese colours sternly. "The trees were the same colour as the sand."

"How do you know—"

"—ma'am, I told you, it was Kashyyyk." Sey'les interrupted impatiently. "The Worshyr trees though were the wrong colours."

"Very well," Ro'val said, setting down her datapad. "What I don't understand still, I hope you understand why this confuses me. You say you have never been to Kashyyyk, yet you tell me the colours are wrong. How do you know this is Kashyyyk?"

"Well, as I said, we were Wookiees, and also I have seen pictures. The trees shouldn't be sand-coloured," Sey'les answered grumpily.

"Did the Wookiees say anything?" Ro'val asked.

"Um… well we were mostly yelling at me ma'am." Sey'les growled in her best Shyriiwook " _Oh na shwerya!_ It means 'stop screwing around' I think, and one of them hit me. _"_

Ro'val stared at Sey'les. "I did not know you can speak Shyriiwook. You should have said that earlier."

"Sorry I didn't mention it. My Shyriiwook isn't very good. I was good five years ago when I was dating a Wookiee. Since then, I haven't ever practiced," Sey'les admitted.

Ro'val's fur suddenly began swirling suspiciously and nervously. "You dated a Wookiee Sey'les?" Ro'va'ls voice did not sound angry, but her face had a slight judgmental scowl.

"Um… yeah," Sey'les said frankly, returning the scowl with a slightly toothy glare. "I really don't think, ma'am, that has anything to do with well… anything."

"You are right, I am sorry. There—"

"—Wookiees were burning," Sey'les interjected. "We were burning. It was like Antar 4 but much worse. I don't get why this is all about the colours I was seeing."

"I am only trying to gauge exactly what you are experiencing. Post-traumatic stress-induced dreams are common Captain Sey'les. The distorted colours and having a completely different identity—that is what I am asking about," Ro'val explained. She clenched her snout tight as if the next question would be more personal, "as for the matter of the Wookiee hitting you… Did the Wookiee you dated ever assault you Sey'les?"

"No ma'am. Also, I think the Wookiees thought I was also a Wookiee," Sey'les insisted, keeping her arms on her armrests. "They didn't know they were hitting _me_ if that makes sense. I was really tall and could see my reflection on the ocean—which was the right colour by the way. I tried speaking basic and couldn't."

Ro'val continued furiously typing notes on her datapad. "And you said that… well, the smell of the—"

"When we burned, we smelled like Nuna bacon and burning wood," Sey'les gulped. "The whole forest for clicks in every direction burned. There was no hope. The fire was deceptively deadly, it smelled dangerous but looked like just white smoke. The rain that carried it though, ma'am, smelled like… _yaho zhar agkaflavakain,_ " [like spicy food.]

"So, before you— _you Wookiees_ —got caught up in the destruction, the sticky rain that fell from the sky smelled like spicy food?" Ro'val's fur swirled in nervous worry. Her snout was hanging open.

 _Kriff. She thinks I am completely insane,_ Sey'les realised. "Yes, ma'am," Sey'les growled nervously.

"Do you worry—is this affecting you in any way in real life other than being worried about the dreams you are having? Do you fear spicy food, for example?" Ro'val asked.

Sey'les thought about her question for a moment. "No ma'am."

Looking up from her datapad, Ro'val asked slowly, "you do still think though, that these dreams are real?"

"Well, they feel real at least," Sey'les said, scratching her swirling neck fur nervously. "I am not sure why these keep happening, but I feel like they may be happening somewhere." She looked down at the front of the table.

"I understand," Ro'val said slowly as she went back to typing.

"Do you think I am crazy?" Sey'les asked in a quiet voice.

"Crazy is not a word in my vocabulary—"

"—your basic vocabulary ma'am?" Sey'les growled sternly.

Ro'val sighed. "Why are you trying to provoke me Captain?" she asked in a completely calm voice. Ro'val's fur was completely still.

"Sorry ma'am I wasn't," Sey'les said quickly, her fur swirling nervously. "It was stupid."

"I don't think… You seem to be very capable of doing your job. Commander Tarkin—"

"—Governor Tarkin," Sey'les corrected in a nervous growl.

"That blowhard is having you call him 'Governor'? Sheesh!" Ro'val said, exhaling hard. She put her palm onto her forehead in frustration. "The one democratically-elected position in his entire life. _Commander Tarkin,_ " Ro'val corrected, "Commander Tarkin's reports on your job performance so far have been exemplary. But all of this… well, to me Lir, some of your actions. I'll spell it out for you: you asked for your officer's physical when you were still recovering from what happened on Antar 4. That seems—"

"—ma'am, I would think that you, as a fellow Bothan, would understand that I have ambition," Sey'les interjected.

"Indeed," Ro'val sighed. "Very well, it still seems _reckless_ and _disordered_ to me. Indicative of a Bothan who is ambitious but has impulsive and disordered thinking. Lir, I'll be frank with you. I think you still have a grip on reality. However, it worries me that you think your dreams are somehow real, and the anxiety your dreams are causing you is troubling. The fact you thought you were a Wookiee is also troubling to me. I suspect it may be some sort of identity disorder, and a thought disorder but—"

"—am I being given a medical profile ma'am?" Sey'les asked worriedly.

"No. As I said before, I think you are fully capable of doing your job. I also think that the problems you are having are not related to your trauma on Antar 4, and you have probably been functioning just fine with them your whole life up till now. Perhaps Antar 4 made them worse, but at this stage at least, this only seems to be a problem in your sleep. I going to prescribe you a small dosage of something that will hopefully make your dreams have less impact on you when you sleep."

"All right," Sey'les sighed.

"We still have twenty minutes," Ro'val noted, looking at her chronometer. "Is there anything work-related or relationship-related that is troubling you?"

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously as she thought of Wulf. "No ma'am," she smiled.

"You do realise I can tell that you are lying Sey'les. Is he a Wookiee?" Ro'val asked sternly.

"No!" Sey'les growled. "I thought we agreed that the species of my romantic interests did not matter."

"Well, if it is troubling you so much—"

"—ma'am let's drop the charade. I happen to know you are the Coruscant Operations Director and have been for the last five years," Sey'les growled, staring provocatively into Ro'val's eyes. "You almost certainly know who I was dating back then and are just—"

"—Captain Lir Sey'les," Ro'val snarled, letting Sey'les know, by using all her title and all of her names, that this conversation was both taken very seriously and was completely on the Bothan record. "You are never to discuss my position amongst our people, not even to me. You are certainly not cleared to know—how could a freelancer like you with no Bothan security clearance at all find out who I am?"

"Just, someone told me ma'am. I am sorry for bringing it up," Sey'les growled nervously trying to look away from Ro'val's gazing dark-brown eyes.

"Great. A security breach; was it the Jedi?" Ro'val asked.

"No ma'am," Sey'les said, her fur relaxing slightly.

"Good. I would certainly not want any of them to know who I am," Ro'val growled. "Captain Lir Sey'les, I am seriously questioning your loyalty to our people. Your continued secretiveness—"

"—my loyalty is to the Republic and our people," Sey'les said firmly.

"So is mine, but, like any good Bothan, I would list the Republic second Captain Sey'les," Ro'val snarled. "I will be frank Lir Sey'les. There will be serious consequences for your standing if you do not tell me who—"

"—it was Senator Yarua and also Warrrhul!" Sey'les stammered quickly on the brink of panic.

"Warrrhul… of Execútive Outcomes! Those kriffing Wookiees," Ro'val gasped. "It's always them, isn't it? Well, I know they know, we… well that is certainly—" Ro'val interrupted herself. "Captain Lir Sey'les, I will tell you this, I know they know who I am, but I am very disappointed that they would tell you."

"They were both kind of drunk," Sey'les said with a wince. "They were both complaining about you. I was their favourite Bothan, well actually, I probably still am," she said with a proud toothy smile. The Bothan's mood improved dramatically as she recalled how much the Wookiees like her.

"Complaining about me. COMPLAINING ABOUT ME!" Ro'val snarled. "How many others know?!"

"It was five years ago so I don't remember exactly," Sey'les admitted, recalling the memory. "A few other Judicials were there, many Wookiees, mostly mercs, a Wookiee Jedi, and some humans. Most of us were so drunk… well, I am not sure if they would remember." She paused, trying to think of any other pertinent details. "It was definitely at the AstroBar."

"Five years… a Wookiee Jedi… the AstroBar. THE ASTROBAR!" Rova's eyes were wide in fear and shock. She groaned and put her palm on her forehead again in frustration. "Ugh… the AstroBar… The SBI drinks there! The Coruscant police drink there! Everyone knows! Very well Captain, you can consider yourself dismissed."

"DISMISSED?!" Sey'les gasped in shock. "Ma'am! Please don't dismiss me from the Navy! I told you everything I know," she whined in a breathy voice.

"Dismissed from my office. Dismissed from your session. Calm yourself," Ro'val sighed impatiently. "I will see you next week. Stay out of other's business Captain Lir Sey'les, especially if they are Bothans. That's an order."

* * *

Sey'les blinked as she stepped out of the Judicial Hospital onto the new, mostly finished, rooftop plaza. The rooftop of the Judicial Arcology's newest level.

 _Wait a second,_ Sey'les thought. In her memory, Yarua and Warrrhul were completely inebriated sloshing liquor everywhere. Her ex-sheyachu— _ex-boyfriend_ she supposed, Archumagh a merc captain for Execútive Outcomes, had brought her along. There was a blue guy also in Judicial dress blues—Pax!

Sey'les snapped out of her reverie and began thinking again. _Warrrhul is the CEO of a Wookiee Mercenary company. Paying mercs to fight conflicts is against the Bothan Way_ — _wait a second! Is dating a merc against the Bothan Way too? Perhaps something I could ask Ro'val—never_.

She started laughing out loud at her own train of thought, nearly doubling over. Two Corps of Engineers officers stared at her like she was insane.

Sey'les glared back at them angrily. _Wait! Paying mercs is against the Bothan Way! What does… what does Warrrhul know about Ro'val? Why did Warrrhul know Ro'val? Is Ro'val paying mercs—UGH—stay of their business._ Sey'les killed her train of thought so aggressively that she snarled.

The two officers now looked frightened and gave her a wide berth as they walked past, not daring to get closer than three meters from her.

Walking to the travelator, Sey'les pulled out her datapad and checked on whether Wulf and Joran were still going to the meeting. Both had checked attending. _Good_. _That gives me 45 minutes to get to Dex's Diner._ She began walking on the travellator to catch the maglev from the Arcology Station, to Federal District Station.

* * *

Stepping through the door to Dex's Diner, Sey'les sniffed the air curiously. _Ardennian. Wulf is here—_

" _—_ Do you want the usual Lir?" FLO yelled.

While the WA-7 droid at Dex's Diner had many nicknames, including Wanda, and WA, Sey'les had always chosen to use FLO.

"Sure FLO, but wait twenty minutes to make it," Sey'les said. Looking towards the corner of the diner, Wulf was already seated. He wore a four-sleeved grey long-sleeve, a dark-orange cargo vest over it, and a green racing with ear-coverings. Sey'les could not see his legs, but presumed he wore black pants.

Wulf smiled as Sey'les approached his table.

"How was the shrink?" Wulf asked.

"Really crazy," Sey'les sighed.

Wulf laughed. "Honestly, I am not surprised. Bothan and a psychiatrist—that is just a recipe for crazy."

"Is Joran here yet?" Sey'les asked, ignoring Wulf's joke.

"Nope," Wulf said looking at the chronometer. "We are early though."

"How have your appointments been?"

Wulf stretched all four of his arms and yawned, "Eh, kinda boring. I don't get why Master Allie was so worried about us."

Sey'les looked down at her datapad to make sure Joran was still coming. A green box was still around his face. _Good_.

A few second passed and Sey'les set down her datapad. "Yeah, I dunno why she is so worried about us either," she said with a smile, but her fur swirled nervously.

As FLO hovered passed their table, Sey'les and Wulf asked for a caf. FLO returned with a giant kettle of cheap watery caf, two mugs, and powdered dairy creamer for the Ardennian, non-dairy for the Bothan.

Suddenly, the sound of a roaring engine and extremely loud afterburners echoed through the windows. Sey'les and Wulf's mugs began rattling on the table. A long, brand-new, fire-red, M-31 Airspeeder with engines larger than the passenger compartment, descended onto Dex's Diner's tiny parking lot. The afterburners fired obnoxiously loud, sending a thick black plume of smoke over the whole lot. It landed right next to Wulf's Flare S Swoop.

Sey'les and Wulf both stared out the window in shock, snouts hanging open. Once the smoke cleared, in the driver's window, Sey'les saw a human. It was Senior Lieutenant Joran, the engineer assigned to their team. He looked lost.

The M-31 was so long that it occupied two parking spots. Joran climbed out and looked very nervous and out of place. He looked the establishment up and down, again, looking as if he were lost. He wore formal black trousers and a sharp black formal shirt.

Sey'les gave a cautious slow wave through the window. Joran saw her.

"I think I should have become an engineer!" Wulf said in awe. "Those things cost 180,000 credits! More than I make in four years!"

As Joran walked through the door, Dex's yelled angrily from behind the counter.

Sey'les winced and hurried across the room to deescalate the conflict.

"You think just because you own that Kuati piece of shassa, that you can just fly it like that? Right here in CoCo Town! Occupy two parking spots, then come inside and expect to be served?! That is a serious noise violation. I ought to—"

"Dex," Sey'les said with a wince, "the human came here to meet me. I am sorry this is all my fault."

"I am sorry Captain, and I am sorry…?"

"DEXTER! It says Dex's Diner doesn't it?! You aren't as bright as you look!"

"I am sorry Dex," Joran said to the huge Besalisk.

"I'll let you in this time. Don't ever land loudly like that again," Dex scowled, then slunk back into the kitchen.

"Ma'am, do you think my speeder will be safe parked out there?" Joran asked with a terrified look. He clearly thought he was on the completely wrong part of the planet.

Sey'les fought the urge to laugh. "Yes, I do Lieutenant. We're seated by a window," she said pointing to Wulf, then led him to their table.

"If you want a caf, you can ask FLO, the droid," Sey'les explained, sitting down facing away from the door. Joran sat on the same side of the booth as Wulf so he could more easily see his speeder.

"Thank you, ma'am," Joran sighed. "Next time though, Captain, would it be possible to meet closer to the Central District? This place is quite hard to get to in—"

"Oh, I just take the Maglev from Federal District to my house, then my house to here," Sey'les said.

"Maglev? You don't fly? You live in CoCo Town?!" Joran exclaimed. Realising he was being impolite, he quickly stammered "I mean no offence ma'am."

"Yeah, it's pretty safe here," Sey'les said, finding the human's reactions amusing. "It's not like we are on level 2685 or something. I've lived here for eight years, and Wulf has lived here for three years. For your other question, I actually don't know how to drive. I just use the maglev," Sey'les admitted.

A nervous crease crossed Joran's forehead at Sey'les's remark that she did not know how to drive.

Wulf laughed a bit. "Your speeder is going to be fine human. Mine's parked right next to it," he added reassuringly.

Joran stammered, "well, ma'am, respectfully, I have never been to this part of Coruscant and it is a bit difficult to find from where—I suppose I do know where it is now though."

"Exactly," Sey'les said with a toothy grin, then her facial expression became more serious. "I've finished filling in the _flow-chart_ you sent me…"

"Good, I hope, ma'am, that you find it intuitive," Joran said with an un-toothy human grin of his own.

"It's… all right I suppose. Ultimately, Governor Tarkin wants us Rangers to get you officers from the Corps of Engineers combat capable. Since you and your team will be working with Lieutenant Wulf and I, we thought it prudent to start."

"I agree ma'am, wholeheartedly," Joran said with a great deal of human enthusiasm. "Is it just going to be you two though ma'am?"

"Oh no," Sey'les said. "Wulf and I were just formed as the nucleus of this team a few days ago. I am still bringing over Judicials, trying to clear them for Ranger training. So far, it's been progressing slower than I expected. I hope to have a full team of eight rangers, counting myself, within a month."

Wulf was surprised, "eight! Ma'am, Judicial teams were always six?"

"Yeah, well, in the Navy, apparently, we do things differently," Sey'les said. "It's been harder for me to build a team than most Direct Action Operative captains because, well," Sey'les exhaled through her nose, "we lost most of our team on Antar 4."

"I am sorry to hear that," Joran sad sadly.

"Thanks," Sey'les croaked.

"Do you want a caf?" FLO yelled.

"Uh, sure," Joran said.

"I'll bring you a mug!"

After ten more seconds of silence, Sey'les finally said, "back to business."

"Ah, yes. Ma'am what do you need from me?" Joran asked. He looked positively eager to be helpful.

"First, Wulf, did you also make your flow-chart?" Sey'les asked.

"Sorry ma'am, I forgot," Wulf said guiltily.

Sey'les scowled. "All right," she growled cautiously, "we can work with just mine, right?"

"Correct ma'am," Joran answered.

"Good, here is mine, tell me if it makes sense." Sey'les passed her datapad to Joran. The display had a yellow, purple and black flow-chart showing the organisation of their unit within the Strategic Advisory Cell. Joran had sent Sey'les the template yesterday evening, and Sey'les filled it out with what she knew.

"Great!" Joran said excitedly. He poured himself a cup of caf once FLO returned, added a dash of powdered milk, then winced at the taste. "Sorry, we only drink espresso-based caf beverages in the Central District like cappuccinos."

Sey'les scowled and Wulf rolled his eyes.

Sey'les took another sip of caf while Joran kept excitedly flipping through the flow-chart.

"You know what's funny Sey'les?" Wulf asked with a smile on his face, clearly ready to tell a joke.

"Nope," Sey'les said in a stern voice, trying to send the signal that this was not time for jokes.

"Flow-chart…"

Sey'les glared at Wulf. "Lieutenant stop it. We may be at Dex's Diner, but this is work-related," she growled.

"All right, sorry," Wulf sighed, taking a sip of caf and looking over Joran's shoulder. Wulf blinked stupidly a few times, staring down the datapad.

"Okay," Joran finally said. "Ma'am, we are off to an excellent start. Now, I will design a second flow-chart. This one will be for which of you—once you get more team members that is—will be teaching us exactly which combat tasks. Then, I will build our unit's encyclopaedia within the Strategic Advisory Cell encyclopaedia I have already made," Joran said, cracking his knuckles excitedly. "All of this will then be posted to a suite on Gibble for everyone to collaborate on."

"Gibble? What is that?" Wulf asked with one eyebrow higher than the other.

Joran flashed a smile. "Oh, it is a software development suite. Engineers and scientists use it to store our projects. It is pretty easy to use once you learn to program using Gib."

Sey'les scowled at Joran. "Do I look like I know how to program in Gib?"

"You don't have to know how to program, Captain, just to read the flow-charts from it," he responded cautiously. "You only need to know how to program in Gib to add content."

"Good. Frankly, Lieutenant, this seems a bit like a bunch of well… nonsense busy-work to me," Sey'les sighed.

"Me too!" Wulf exclaimed.

Joran looked down at his cup of caf. He had gone from enthusiastic to completely downcast in the blink of an eye.

"We never made flow-charts of our teams in the Judicial Corps," Sey'les explained in a neutral tone, trying to sound more sensitive.

"I understand where you are coming from Captain," Joran said sternly. "But, respectfully ma'am, flow-charts make the learning material easier to understand. You get a nice skeleton of the plan before the plan is put into action."

"I will take your word for it, Lieutenant, but," she growled cautiously, "sometimes we definitely won't have time to build a flow-chart before we start a combat operation. There have been times where I was only given two-hour's notice. Also, if it starts to seem like these flow-charts and gibbins—"

"Gibble ma'am," Joran said.

" _Gibbles_ fine. Lieutenant, if it seems like the Gibbles are taking too much time from our other preparedness work, I am going to have to order you to skip that step," Sey'les growled.

"Skip that step!" Joran gasped. "But Captain, without putting our plans on Gibble, it won't be replicable!" he stammered and looked like he was on the brink of panic. "Other teams won't be able to see our work and—"

"Calm down." Sey'les said impatiently. "It's not the end of the kriffing universe Lieutenant. The stuff we do is," Sey'les quieted her voice, "need to know anyways, so only a few teams will have access to it. This is combat training for engineers, and maybe later taking you guys along into combat. We are not doing a science experiment!"

Wulf began laughing, then stopped himself quickly as Sey'les glared at him. He straightened his face and took another sip of caf.

"Sorry ma'am," Joran said. "I suppose I am just not used to working with well… warriors."

"It's all right," Sey'les said, switching from a snarl to her most consoling voice as fast as Joran's mood had changed earlier.

"Razal, here is your order," FLO said enthusiastically setting Wulf's plate on the table. "Lir, your food will be ready, as ordered, in three minutes and twenty-six seconds. Would you like to order anything?"

Joran looked worriedly at Wulf's plate for a moment. "Um, could I have a menu?" he asked.

"Certainly," FLO replied.


	33. Itoll Oc'nel

In orbit of Coruscant

Upon arriving in the Coruscant system, Oc'nel and Fojo had each received commission offers on their datapads. Oc'nel was extremely disappointed that his was for Lieutenant. He had been a Judicial for over eight years. Fojo was offered a commission as Ensign, and he had been a Judicial for two years.

"I am going to reject this offer and try to re-negotiate," Oc'nel said strategically.

The _Agarath's_ hangar now had three brand-new LAAT space transports, ready to take the entire taskforce down to the surface.

Most of the crew was gathered around the LAATs, inspecting them curiously. Oc'nel and Fojo however were looking at their datapads, standing away from the crowd.

After Oc'nel hit the **"reject"** button, a new menu popped up where he could leave comments or explain why he rejected their offer. "I am going to tell them that I expect a commission as Captain," he growled.

"Wait! Don't reject it yet!" Fojo whisper-yelled.

"Why not?" Oc'nel asked curiously, looking up at Fojo with his one working eye.

"You are priority Alpha for a new eye implant and have an appointment soon. If you reject it, you will be bumped to a lower priority and might even be medically disqualified and—"

"True!" Oc'nel gasped. "If I were you, I would reject an offer of Ensign though. That's ridiculous."

"Oh, I am," Fojo said seriously. "Ensign? That must be the stupidest offer in Republic history. There are officers just graduating from the Academy starting off as Ensign."

"Okay, I'll wait until after my appointment to reject my offer," Oc'nel said. He looked longingly for a moment as Jazal, Reyl, Higil, Kier, and a group of engineers and _Agarath_ crew stepped on the first transport bound for the Jedi Temple. _I wonder if we will ever see each other again_.

"Why do you look so down all of the sudden?!" Fojo asked. "You are getting a new eye, and we both will probably have every day of All Species Week off while the Navy waits to give us a better offer! I've never had the whole week off, have you?"

Oc'nel snapped out of his reverie. "Sorry, I was just thinking about… never mind. You are right!" he said brightly.

_The whole All Species Week off and a new eye! With my luck, Jazal will…_ Oc'nel began imagining a scenario where Jazal dropped out of the Jedi Order and chose him, then stopped himself. _Even if she does resign, there is no reason for me to think she would stay on Coruscant. Realistically, Jazal will become a scientist somewhere or—._

"—Oc'nel…" Fojo's voice came out of nowhere. "AGENT ITOLL OC'NEL! HELLO!"

"OC'NEL GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Pax yelled.

Oc'nel turned and realised Fojo, Pax, and everyone else was waiting on him. They were already on the LAAT. He picked up his rucksack, picked up his duffel bag, and jogged over.

Pax and Carver were glaring at him. Fojo looked amused.

"Sorry everyone," Oc'nel said, his fur swirling with embarrassment.

* * *

The LAAT was even more spartan than _the Jade_ or a Nu-Class transport. It had only handlebars and jump seats. There was no assembly area, nor internal terminals for the passengers. The only terminals were in the cockpit. The pilots both wore the new green Navy uniforms.

It was evening in the Federal District, about one hour till sunset.

"So, what are you guys all up to when you get to Coruscant?" Carver asked.

Fojo answered first. "It's kind of late so I don't have much on. I am going to visit my—"

"—mother?" Driffu interrupted with a mean cackle.

Carver guffawed along with her.

"Actually yes. I haven't seen any of my family in months, Driffu," Fojo said with an impatient huff.

"I am going to get my speeder out of storage then check on my apartment," Oc'nel said brightly. "It'll be fun flying for the first time in a month."

_Pax and Carver are just going to get kriffing drunk_ , Oc'nel suspected.

Pax answered predictably, "I am going to go home, then hit the AstroBar."

"I think I'll join you," Carver said.

The AstroBar was a relatively safe Cantina on the border between the Federal District and CocoTown, one stop away from the Senate Bureau of Intelligence headquarters and ten stops away from the Judicial Arcology. Most of the Coruscant Police and other mid-level government workers who wanted to drink somewhere safe, without the risk of being ambushed by a gangster, hung out there. A few Senators, mercenaries, and Jedi also frequented the establishment. Oc'nel himself had been dragged there a few times for drinks with Pax and Carver, but he really did not enjoy drinking, nor being around drunk cops.

Once LAAT landed, Oc'nel could smell the scents of construction—sawdust, burning plastic, wet concrete, wet flimsiplast, and other smells he could not identify. The corps of engineers had been very busy while he was away.

"I am going to the taxi port," Oc'nel said to the rest of the group walking to the Maglev. "See you around," he waved.

He walked automatically in the opposite direction, so distracted by Jazal that he only ignored their goodbyes, and really only said goodbye as a matter of courtesy. _Honestly, I suppose I would quit my career too, but… this is crazy. We just had a causal relationship. I wonder if—wait…_

Oc'nel realised he was standing at the edge of the promenade between the Judicial Hospital and this new structure he could not identify. He was nowhere near the taxi port. A few late shift doctors and engineers were having a lively discussion on their break but the Arcology was mostly empty.

_All right, I need to focus_. He walked to the taxi port making a conscious effort to not daydream or speculate. When he arrived at the location, a circular platform jutting out of the south side of the Arcology, a lone taxi sat there.

Oc'nel stooped down to look into the taxi window.

"Bothan! I don't want any trouble and I do not have any information on anyone. I—" a lightly tanned Dressellian stammered. He had a shallow groove running from his nose through the centre of his head, dividing his two brain-like lobes. His large yellow eyes widened as he looked up and down Oc'nel's Judicial uniform then he relaxed. "Off from work?" he asked in a relieved voice.

"Uh not exactly," Oc'nel sighed. "Just got back from a one-month deployment in the—"

"—Antar 4? You Judicials all have my condolences," the Dressellian interrupted.

"No," Oc'nel said. "But thanks. I was in the Outer Rim mostly. Do you have room in the back for my bags?" He winced a little bit dreading how long he would have to wait if the driver said no.

"Sure," the Dressellian answered, hopped out of his airtaxi, and took Oc'nel's bags.

Oc'nel hopped into the front passenger seat. A scent of cheap fruity air fresheners overwhelmed his senses.

The Dressellian was clearly puzzled by Oc'nel sitting in the front. After getting back into the cab, he stared at the Bothan nervously.

"I have nothing to do with Clan Askar," Oc'nel growled sternly, staring back at the Dressellian.

"Well, you are pretty tall," the Dressellian said suspiciously. "You look like you could be from the Dressel Belt. Bothans only get that tall from living in low gravity."

"I am from Botha'ahir," he growled. "I can get a different cab if you are too damn scared to let a Bothan ride in the front."

"Th—, that explains it, and that won't be necessary!" the Dressellian stammered. "It's not your fault you're well… where do you want to go?" He licked his lips nervously and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Speederhouse Speeder Storage," Oc'nel said, looking down at his datapad.

The airtaxi began ascending into the speeder lanes and merged into traffic. After a few minutes of silence, the Dressellian started speaking again. "Actually, I am from Coruscant myself."

"Interesting…" Oc'nel replied automatically, looking at his datapad to see if Jazal had sent him any messages. The Dressellian continued chatting away to himself while Oc'nel looked through his messages.

"Let me guess… you fly a TannenWorks speeder of some sort?"

"Wha—huh?" Oc'nel snapped into focus. "Yeah a TW-2 model R," he said proudly with a smile.

The Dressellian began laughing.

"What?!" Oc'nel snarled.

The Dressellian gasped in terror, inadvertently steering his airtaxi through two lanes of traffic. A skybus honked at them angrily.

"Whoa whoa whoa! It's all right," Oc'nel said in a panic, grabbing onto the passenger's roof handle above him. "Sorry I forgot Bothans scare you guys."

The Dressellian straightened out the speeder and merged back into his lane. "Sorry about that," he sighed. "I didn't know Bothans actually made that noise!"

"We just make it sometimes… when we get upset," Oc'nel said with a wince.

The Dressellian chuckled a little bit at himself.

"Am I the first Bothan you've ever had in your taxi?" Oc'nel asked curiously, turning his head in the Dressellian's direction without looking directly at him.

"Yeah," the Dressellian said, adjusting his mirror.

"What's your name?"

"Orrimarko," the Dressellian answered.

"Orri Marko? I'm Itoll Oc'nel."

"No, it's just Orrimarko. I don't have a last name or a middle name."

"Oh," Oc'nel said, adjusting his white eyepatch.

"Did you lose your eye?" Orrimarko asked.

Oc'nel thought for a moment, _do I want to answer that question?_ "Nope, but I got nerve damage. Getting a cybernetic replacement tomorrow."

Orrimarko paused for a moment. "Sorry to hear that," he said quickly.

"It was my favourite eye too," Oc'nel said sadly.

"Favourite eye?" Orrimarko asked curiously, not turning away from the front window.

"Yeah," Oc'nel lifted his eyepatch and looked at his reflection in the window. A dark circle once again obstructed his vision. He turned to Orrimarko.

Orrimarko briefly looked at Oc'nel's face then turned his head back to the front windshield. "Oh. They are different colours, huh. I didn't know Bothans had different coloured eyes. In our art, you never do."

"Yep, well… not all Bothans do. Actually, most Bothans just have reddish-brown or amber eyes. Almost all of the males in my clan have one blue eye and one non-blue eye though," Oc'nel said as he put the eyepatch back on. "I am going to demand a light blue one though from the doctor. I don't want both of my eyes to be red-brown."

"Why not an amber eye and a red-brown eye?" Orrimarko asked curiously. "Amber is a pretty colour," he said very matter of factly.

"I suppose," Oc'nel said looking at the speeder's roof, deep in thought. "But I don't want to change that part of me. I am getting a blue one," he said firmly.

"All right."

Oc'nel shuddered as the airtaxi crossed from the Federal District into the Works. The skyline and bright building lights gave way to thick clouds of black smoke and dim red factory lights.

"What is that Bothan noise?" Orrimarko asked bemused.

"Ahh…" Oc'nel's fur swirled as he winced. "Nervousness I suppose?"

"Don't tell me Bothans can get creeped out?"

Oc'nel blinked a few times in surprise. "Yeah we can…"

"Are you afraid of the dark?!"

It was always much darker in the Works than the rest of Coruscant, but that definitely was not it. "Nope. Actually, believe it or not, I spent over a day in pitch black Alpheridies on shore leave, and went on a hike through it for fun," Oc'nel boasted. "Nah, it is something else about this place… Doesn't it ever feel like, I dunno, death to you?"

"Not really, I suppose I am not nearly as superstitious as most beings though." Orrimarko steered with one hand, rolling up his window with the other as the pollution got worse. "I guess I am just surprised that well… your species can feel fear."

"Really?!" Oc'nel was careful not to snarl but could not help growling a little. "Tons of Bothans live in fear. The combat tactics we learn at the Martial Academy prioritise survival and eliminating the enemy first over victory. Most species view us as well… cowards."

"I suppose most species never got eaten by any Bothans or forced to worship Bothans as gods," Orrimarko said nervously.

"Those Bothans in that cult were maniacs," Oc'nel said sternly. "I am sorry that happened, but I don't think a single Dressellian has been eaten in twenty years at least."

"I wasn't suggesting that Bothans in general would eat us," Orrimarko gulped, "But you are the same species as the Bothans who settled my system. The Askar'krai cult would probably still be 'guiding our development' by having us worship them as gods if it weren't for the Jedi, and some of the rogue members of clan Askar would probably be sneaking an unsanctioned bite of Dressellian."

"I get along perfectly well with the Jedi," Oc'nel said matter of factly. _More than just fine_ , he thought with a smile. "Wookiees though, have eaten humans before as prey. Nobody thinks—"

"—Wookiees are kriffing scary," Orrimarko snapped. "Damn straight I think they are scary. If you were a Wookiee, I probably would have pissed my pants."

Oc'nel chuckled a little. "All right, I will grant you, I also find Wookiees to be scary."

"That doesn't surprise me so much I guess…" Orrimarko pondered. "I suppose it surprises me that you can fear things like the Works. It doesn't surprise that you fear things that are bigger and scarier than you like a Wookiee—things that would be higher than you on the food chain," he stammered.

"Higher than me on the food chain—" Oc'nel shook his head in frustration. "WHAT?!"

"I am sorry!" Orrimarko gasped in terror.

"Let's just get to my speeder so I can go home," he sighed and looked out the passenger window. _What a kriffing idiot._

Orrimarko sighed and said quietly "I am sorry if I offended you."

"Just drop it," Oc'nel growled. "I am sure there have been Dressellian murderers before, that doesn't mean I think they represent your whole damn species."

Oc'nel was still seething as the airtaxi pulled down to Speederhouse Speeder Storage. The terminal displaying the price read 38.90. Oc'nel put his credit chip into the slot and entered 40.00.

Orrimarko popped open the rear hatch and handed Oc'nel his bags. He tried apologising again, and Oc'nel replied "it's all right," even though he did not feel like he had accepted Orrimarko's apology.

As the airspeeder lifted into the sky, Oc'nel began rummaging through his rucksack for his speeder remote. Eventually, he found it.

"Hey Itoll! You look flustered? Are you all right?" Yanush, the middle-aged human remarked as the Oc'nel walked in.

The customer service building was a tiny shack-sized structure with a counter stretching from one wall to the other. Yanush sat behind it. Despite the late hour, Yanush had a cup of caf in front of him.

Oc'nel blinked twice at Yanush's unexpected remark. "Yeah I am all right. Just glad to be back."

"All right, well, I will need to see your pilot's licence again," Yanush said stiffly.

"Oh yeah! Right," Oc'nel winced, his fur swirling with embarrassment. He fumbled through his pockets for his wallet and handed Yanush the card.

"What happened to your eye?" Yanush asked.

"That's classified Yanush," Oc'nel said sternly.

Yanush laughed. "All right Itoll, here's your licence back. I'll pretend I don't notice you are now flying with only one eye, without a licence that has a class E exemption."

"Thanks," Oc'nel grinned. "I am getting a cybernetic eye tomorrow, so it won't be a problem."

"Well, you'll need a class CY exemption in that case. Take it up with Coruscant Skies after your surgery is my recommendation," Yanush said, taking a sip of caf. "Also, there is no way the doctor is letting you fly your speeder home. You'll need someone to fly you there and—"

"—yeah, yeah, I get it," Oc'nel growled impatiently. _All these damn humans with all of their crazy rules._ "How much does it cost me?"

"For one month and three days…." Yanush began fumbling through his records, somehow completely caught off guard. "Let's see—"

"—if I recall, the rate you quoted me was 13 credits a day," Oc'nel said sternly. "I have been gone 34 days so that is 442 credits," he said as he held out his credit chip.

"I guess that sounds about right," the human said, digging through stacks of flimsiplast. "AH! Found it."

He handed Oc'nel a sheet of flimsiplast to sign and total. It was the first flimsiplast Oc'nel had signed since he dropped off his speeder. After signing it and paying Yanush, Oc'nel headed out the rear door to the speeder yard.

At 1.5 meters wide, 2 meters tall, and 3.4 meters long, Oc'nel's awkward little rectangular navy-blue TW-2 was the smallest four-seater speeder in the entire lot.

Unlocking the door with his remote, Oc'nel plopped into the driver's seat. Per Coruscanti regulations, for some reason, Oc'nel was forced to translate every Bothese label in his TW-2 into Basic, write the translations onto tiny nametags, and stick them under the Bothese words. It was entirely pointless since Oc'nel never let anyone else drive his speeder without being present in the passenger seat. The headlights were controlled with plastic switch set in a circular indent.

The switch had five positions set in the circle, each spaced 72 degrees apart within the 360-degree circle. The positions were now labelled with stupid name tags in Basic: Нокиз—next to it was a nametag saying ' _No_ _Off_ ,' which he had to change from 'No' to 'Off' when the Coruscant Skies inspector got angry and confused, Оўолан—' _Rain'_ , Ненефхос—' _Fog_ ,' Гагаби—' _Night_.' Unlike human-manufactured speeders, Bothan headlights lacked a brighter high-beam option.

Absurdly, he even had to stick a name tag under Ниниконд with the words ' _Air Conditioner_ ' written on it with his sloppy Basic handwriting. At first, Oc'nel thought of going to a fabricator and purchasing new printed metal plates with Basic translations to stick next to all of the Bothese to look prettier but felt as if, somehow, that would be letting the legalistic pedants win.

He set his headlights to ' _Night_ ' and lifted off from the lot into the polluted clouds of the Works.

* * *

_Ahh CoCo Town_ , Oc'nel thought as he crossed the boundary from the Federal District. Oc'nel's apartment was inside a boring rectangular complex with sixty roof-top parking spots.

He lowered his speeder onto the roof to his designated parking spot #67. It was a big rectangular square delineated with white paint and labelled '67.' Three TW-2s could easily fit into that spot for which Oc'nel had to pay thirty credits a month. When he first moved in, he demonstrated to the manager that his speeder could comfortably fit into one of the speederbike spots, which only cost ten credits per month.

_"Nope, your little speeder is still technically an enclosed air speeder. Rules are rules,"_ Norra, the middle-aged, brunette human female had said a year ago.

As he lowered his speeder down to the ground, a proximity alarm went off. _What the kriff!_ Switching to the lower camera, Oc'nel saw a tattered tent set up covering the centre of his spot. _So, since I've been gone, the old lady is now a tolerating a homeless person living on the roof, but she doesn't let me save 20 credits a month parking in a speederbike spot._

Oc'nel's snout was in an angry toothy scowl in the verge of snarling. A wizened, dirt-covered human in dirty clothes sat in front of the tent holding a metal sign with white letters painted onto it. He angled the sign up so Oc'nel could read it:

"HOMELESS VETRAN OF ANTAR 4"

Oc'nel was livid at this point. _What type of Judicial can't spell Veteran! Does he know Antar 4 happened a kriffing week ago?_

He lowered his speeder next to the spot, kicking the afterburners to maximum. A thick plume of smoke and seventy kilometre per hour wind blew over the campsite.

As Oc'nel stepped out, the human yelled "WHO THE KRIFF DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! I AM A VETER—Oh…" then gasped upon seeing a Judicial uniform.

"You are sleeping in my parking spot," Oc'nel growled cautiously.

"I am sorry I—"

"Who the hell said you can sleep on the roof? There's an entire undercity of abandoned buildings you know. The Jedi Temple also has a homeless shelter and it is twenty minutes away on the Maglev." Oc'nel approached the seated human and glared down at him.

"I—no one said I could sleep on the roof, but yesterday, they said the security droid was glitching and everyone well…"

"Who is 'they'?" Oc'nel demanded.

"I dunno… folks."

Oc'nel scowled at him, showing some of his sharp teeth. "I am going to my place. If I come back in twenty minutes and you are still living in my parking spot, I am arresting you." _If the security droid is glitching… there could be worse things to worry about._

"All right," the human gulped.

Oc'nel returned from his speeder and looked under his seat. _Found it._ He grabbed his CDEF pistol he had secretly tucked under the seat, locked his speeder, then walked up to the rooftop door. _Kriff. It's unlocked._

His apartment was two levels down from the roof. When he stepped out from the stairwell, things seemed amiss. A few of the apartment doors were ajar, including his own. Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously as he approached his door. He sniffed the air curiously, and could smell a Twi'lek, a human or near-human, and something else. He took a deep breath, _three, two, one_ …

The door opened with a metallic squeak. His apartment was a mess. Things were overturned, all of his kitchen appliances were gone, the spot where his HoloTerminal once sat on the wall, now was a lighter patch of paint. The room had a strong scent of urine.

"Uh, guys, we have company," a teenage Zabrak croaked in a high-sounding voice.

A Twi'lek female started yelling in a thick accent, "hey, we are living here! What do you think you are oh—" she paused as she saw a Judicial holding a blaster.

"This is my apartment," Oc'nel snarled dialling the Coruscant police line, 111, on his datapad. "Where are my things?!"

"Oh, we didn't steal those," an older Iktochi male said slyly. "We came here after they left."

"Who the kriff pissed on my couch?!" Oc'nel demanded.

"Someone pissed on the couch? EEEEEWWW!" the Twi'lek screamed, hopping off his couch.

"Triple one, what is the emergency?" a female operator asked.  
"This is Agent Itoll Oc'nel, identification code 000923 X-Ray. I am at the Tyrena Apartment complex in CoCo Town and there are vagabonds living on the roof, my apartment has been broken into and vandalised, so have several other apartments. I think you'll need to send in a lot of people. Also…"

"Confirmed, Agent Itoll Oc'nel. How many—"

—Oc'nel stopped paying any attention to the operator. He walked into the centre of the room cautiously, hearing the operator yammering from his datapad but not paying attention to a word.

A meter from the uninvited trio he looked at his safe. It was ajar. Walking past, he pushed the safe open with the tip of his blaster and peered inside. The safe was empty. The faint outline of his personal Bothan Boola carbine could be seen on the back wall of the safe. "KRIFF ME! Also, I need to report a stolen blaster. Some criminal has my Bothan Boola carbine," he growled.

"Very well Agent, stay on the line. We are sending—"

"—I am not staying on the line. I need a free hand to defend myself," Oc'nel snarled and hung up. "Who has my blaster?" he demanded spinning around to face the trio.

The Iktochi was aiming his Boola carbine at him, holding it with one hand. "Two, two, two, two is not a good code for a safe," he said with a cackle.

_Kriff I shouldn't have turned my back._ Oc'nel panicked for a moment, then realised this Iktochi was holding a carbine—a small carbine designed for Bothans, but still a carbine—with one hand.

It is nigh impossible for anyone to hit anything doing that. Oc'nel dropped his datapad, drew his pistol and fell to a prone position on the floor.

The Iktochi squeezed the trigger and three purple blaster shots emerged. The first one hit half a meter above where Oc'nel's head would have been, if he were still standing, the second hit the corner of the wall and the ceiling, and the third hit the ceiling right above the Iktochi's head.

Oc'nel squeezed the trigger of his CDEF. A blaster shot exited and hit squarely in the Iktochi's shoulder. He fell down screaming.

"DROP IT!" Oc'nel snarled, approaching the fallen Iktochi. He grabbed his Boola carbine away from the Iktochi and backed off.

The other two teens started wailing and holding their friend. "You shot him!"

Oc'nel called the operator back. "This is Agent Oc'nel again, one suspect is down. Requesting an ambulance too."

It was the same operator. "Very well, reinforcements—"

"—stay down, you are shot," Oc'nel snarled at the Iktochi trying to stand.

"Are you in a safe location?" the operator asked.

_What a kriffing stupid question_. "No, that is why I called you," Oc'nel growled.

"All right, well I would not want you to take unnecessary—"

Oc'nel hung up. "Maybe you bozos shouldn't have let someone steal my first aid kit," he snarled.

* * *

"So, you say you lost your blaster Agent?" the black and yellow uniformed Coruscant police officer asked as he arrived in Oc'nel's apartment with six security droids. He was human and spoke with a very thick Corellian accent with a twang that made him sound like he was a rough cop in a HoloProgram. His twang rivalled only Pax's.

"I recovered it," Oc'nel replied, trying to hide his embarrassment. He pointed to where he had set the Boola Carbine on the wall. _No need to tell this guy I had my password set to two, two, two, two._

"Good to hear," the black-haired officer said stretching out his hand. "I am Tanivos Divo."

Oc'nel shook his hand. "Itoll Oc'nel."

Divo chuckled. "Why, aren't you a walking-talking stereotype," he remarked with a smirk.

"What?" Oc'nel growled.

The security droids were removing the Iktochi on a stretcher and handcuffing his companions.

Once the teens had been removed, Divo started listing Oc'nel's traits one at a time as if counting clues to a mystery. "Your clan is 'Onel,' you own a Boola Carbine, and if I dare guess—the TW on the roof is yours, correct?" Divo asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," Oc'nel replied, scratching the back of his neck. His fur swirling with embarrassment.

"You also no doubt, own a droid for cutting your fur," Divo said, looking around the destroyed apartment.

"Well yes, and SHTAK!" Oc'nel gasped. "WHERE IS FR?" He started looking behind all of the furniture in a panic. _Where could they have taken her?!_

"Ah, quite the Bothan mystery on our hands!" Divo chuckled. "My second ex was a Bothan," he remarked starting a dramatic narration. "Shorter than you but same fur colour. She was very patient, yet she was still somehow quite neurotic and had lots of—"

"—Divo?"

"Yes?"

"Shut the kriff up," Oc'nel snarled as he began searching in his cupboards—cupboards too small for his COO-series hair stylist droid to possibly fit in. He walked down the hallway cautiously with his blaster, looked in the bathroom and gasped. "FR!"

FR-923 was on the floor of the bathroom covered in graffiti. It looked like she had refused to accompany the would-be thieves and they were not strong enough to carry her.

"KRIFF THIS!" Oc'nel snarled turning her on. "FR? Are you okay?"

"Initiating… initiating," the droid said as her sole yellow eye turned on. "Hello Itoll! I am doing quite—I am quite dirty!" she exclaimed looking down, at the yellow and red curse words spray-painted on her mostly grey exterior.

"We are going to find a new place," Oc'nel snarled. He was incensed at the apartment manager for allowing this to happen.

"Oc'nel, you know, we did get a call yesterday about unwelcome miscreants on the roof. We arrested them," Divo remarked, "but didn't think to check inside… hmmm."

"You know Divo, you are really not making yourself look good right now," Oc'nel snarled. "I don't want to hear about how you almost stopped thieves from stealing my stuff while I was deployed in the Outer kriffing Rim," Oc'nel brushed hit Divo with his shoulder as he brushed past, FR following with loud robotic footsteps. He picked up a few of his dress clothes that had been left in the closet and slung it on one of FR's six arms. None of the furniture was worth salvaging.

Entering the dark hallway, no longer focused on his room, Oc'nel sniffed the air curiously again. "FR, I am taking you up to the speeder and I want you to wait inside."

"Very good! Waiting is my tertiary function."

"Divo," Oc'nel growled worriedly to the following cop.

"Oh, I know that growl," Divo said with his eyebrows furrowed in concern, following out of Oc'nel's apartment.

"I think someone's dead. Not on this floor. Wait a second and I'll come back down," Oc'nel growled cautiously.

"All right Agent, I'll call in more back up," Divo replied.

Oc'nel gave his duffel bag to FR and wore his rucksack on his way up the stairs.

The parking lot now also had an ambulance and a Panther Police Interceptor parked with their emergency lights on. Four of the droids stayed behind while the other two, no doubt, were taking the teens to the lockup.

Adjusting the passenger seat enough for FR to fit her legs, Oc'nel shut the door once she stepped inside and sat down, leaving FR and his bags inside. The ambulance speeder parked on the other side of the lot flew away, followed by the Panther Police Interceptor.

Oc'nel sighed and followed the four police droids down the stairs but paused as he heard another speeder landing. It was an airtaxi. He heard a familiar voice chatting to the driver. He saw a familiar red haired Miraluka in a brown Jedi cloak. _Jazal?!_

"Jazal?!" Oc'nel yelled in excitement and alarm. "What are you doing here?"

"I sensed…" Jazal cut herself off before she finished.

Oc'nel scowled. "I told you I could handle myself, well, actually," he sighed, "I am glad you are here." He hugged her tightly.

She hugged him back. "What's happening?"

"Somehow," he growled, "somehow the apartment droid broke and the manager seems to not know that vagabonds broke into apartments on the upper levels. My place got ransacked. Some teens stole my weapon, but I recovered it and—shassa I left it in my apartment." Oc'nel's fur swirled with embarrassment.

Jazal laughed.

Oc'nel stared at her with a grave expression. "Serious not-funny business though Jazal, most of my stuff is destroyed or gone and I am pretty sure someone killed someone. This asshat cop, Divo, is—"

"—am I interrupting something," Divo's Corellian accent cut in.

"Is right here!" Oc'nel chuckled awkwardly with a wince.

"Bothans…" Divo sighed. "They think because they have better hearing than us, that no one can hear them at all. My second ex—"

"We don't have time to hear about your second ex-wife," Oc'nel snarled. "Does your third ex-wife know about her?"

"Third wife," Divo corrected. "Actually, my third and I have been married for ten years and have three kids."

_Third times a charm,_ Oc'nel thought.

Jazal sighed. "I am Master Jazal," she said with a polite nod.

"Detective Tanivos Divo, Coruscant Police," Divo said in his Corellian drawl sticking out his hand expectantly.

Jazal took it in a very quick handshake. "Have you called reinforcements?"

"Yes but, I didn't realise this was so serious we would be getting Jedi involvement…" Divo said suspiciously.

"It isn't, and I am the only Jedi help you will be getting. I just got back from the Outer Rim with Agent Oc'nel and decided to help him out once I found out there was trouble. By extension, you are being helped out," Jazal said curtly.

"Well, thank you," Divo said in a tone that bordered sarcasm.

Two police interceptors landed. Six droids emerged from one and five droids and a Sullustan emerged from the other.

The Sullustan was also wearing a Coruscanti police uniform and stood two or three centimetres shorter than Oc'nel. "I am Detective Lach Snarr," he said.

"This is Agent Oc'nel and _Master_ Jazal," Divo said, with emphasis on 'master,' one-eyebrow raised, tilting his head towards Oc'nel, suggesting innuendo.

Oc'nel glared at Divo.

"Nice to meet you," Jazal said quickly. "I suggest we search the complex to make sure the inhabitants are safe."

"My thoughts exactly," Divo remarked.

* * *

The well-lit 39th floor looked like it was less ransacked than the 40th floor Oc'nel lived on, but it did not smell less ransacked.

"Uh, this one," Oc'nel said confidently, pointing at room 334. He now had his Boola carbine slung around his shoulder.

The droid on point twisted the knob, it was unlocked. He looked back at Divo.

"Breach," Divo muttered quietly.

Five droids gathered around the first following him into the room. A few moments later five robotic voices yelled "all clear!"

Divo gasped in horror when he stepped inside.

Oc'nel, Snarr, and Jazal followed.

The room looked like it had been robbed, but not quite as emptied as Oc'nel's apartment was. Most of the furnishings were present, just knocked over. A dead elderly human male lay in the centre of the floor with a blaster wound to his chest.

"Excuse me," an elderly female voice came from the hall. "I've been smelling awful incense from this apartment for days and have been meaning to complain to the management."

The Sullustan gasped. "Ma'am, I am going to have to ask you to step outside with me."

Oc'nel rolled his eyes. _Incense?! Human noses…_

"I suggest you call in more reinforcements Divo, there are almost 500 rooms here. You need to do a thorough check of the whole complex," Jazal said.

"Yeah, I…" Divo gasped.

"I want to speak with Norra," Oc'nel snarled.

"Me too," Divo said finally. "How could something like this happen on Coruscant? Even in CoCo Town. This is… unheard of for a… for multiple apartments to just be ransacked with no one reporting it."

"The security droid is on the first level," Oc'nel said. "Follow me."

* * *

"I am not detecting any security—"

"—an old man has been dead in room 334 for probably over a day, you stupid droid," Divo interrupted. "Half of the 40th floor is ransacked. I want to talk to the manager. Where is she?"

"Very well," the security droid said from behind a plastic barrier. "She is currently in Doaba Guerfel, Corellia."

"Good, it is daytime on that part of Corellia right now," Divo muttered, looking up from his wrist chronometer.

Divo rang Norra once on his datapad. She replied in voice only saying she was busy and promised to call right back. A few minutes later, she rang them back, this time sitting before a window with heavy snowfall atop mountains in the background. It was clearly a hover ski resort. Divo held the datapad low so that Oc'nel and Snarr could look down onto the screen.

"Hello Itoll, hello?"

"I am Detective Divo, this is Master Jazal, and detective Snarr, there has been—"

"—your security droid let vagabonds and burglars into my apartment and several others," Oc'nel growled. "Someone killed a man in room 334."

Norra gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

"I do not detect any security breaches!" the security droid exclaimed.

"Well, there definitely are many," Divo said. "Our droids are currently checking the entire complex for intruders and for, potentially, more victims."

"Detective, respectfully, given that a droid's malfunction allowed this to happen in the first place, I would advise sending more of your officers to accompany them," Jazal said in her Jedi lecturer tone.

"I'll take it under advisement Master Jedi," Divo replied. "But the matter at hand is a serious business and—"

"—I will catch the first flight back to Coruscant tomorrow," Norra answered.

"Good, I am glad to hear it. As I was saying though, I am advising the Housing Commission to launch a full audit of these premises and we will be searching for more security breaches. This is frankly," Divo paused dramatically in the middle of his narration, "the worst security breach I have seen in my entire career ma'am."

"I understand your concern, but I don't think that is completely necessary," Norra replied sternly. "However, I will respect your decision. My lawyer will be arriving on site soon."

Oc'nel shook his head. "Norra, I am moving out. I want my deposit."

"Itoll, I am surprised. But, as you know, per the housing contract—"

"—per the Permanent Dwelling Agreement with an Onsite Manager," Jazal interjected, "you agree to provide security to residents. You have clearly violated that," Jazal said sternly.

Oc'nel turned to Jazal and curiously whispered in her ear, "why does a Jedi know anything about Coruscant housing laws? Your code forbids owning—"

—she shushed Oc'nel.

"That may be," Norra argued, "but my lawyers will have a thing to say about this. I am not giving you your deposit voluntarily Itoll. You are required to give me a month's notice before vacating your premise and your premises have been—"

"—ransacked thanks to your negligence," Oc'nel interjected sternly.

"Oh Bothan," Divo sighed. "This drama will keep you here all night. You may be patient enough to argue with Norra for five hours, but I have work to do. My recommendation?"

"I didn't ask for your recommendation Divo," Oc'nel growled impatiently.

"My recommendation," Divo continued dramatically in his Corellian drawl, "is to take this up with the Better Housing Commission, they will no doubt side with you. This level of negligence is, frankly, insane, at least on the surface level of Coruscant."

Norra hung up promptly without saying goodbye.

"If I may speculate," Divo added, "this negligence may even be criminal."

"Still doesn't get me my 1,200 credits or a place to sleep tonight," Oc'nel sighed.

"My recommendation, if I may—"

"—no, you may not," Oc'nel interrupted impatiently. "I don't need hotel recommendations, thank you."

"All right," Divo sighed wearily.

"Jazal, I will give you a ride to the temple," Oc'nel said. "You'll have to sit in the back though. My droid is kind of big."

"That's all right, I can sit in the back, thanks for the help and nice to meet you Divo and Snarr," Jazal said with a bow.

"Nice to work with you Master Jedi," Snarr said with a bow.

"Yeah, I hope I'll see you around," Divo said. "Would be nice for the Jedi to be involved in more Coruscant crime."

Oc'nel could not tell if Divo was being sarcastic but assumed he was. Corellian sarcasm was always a bit of a mystery to him.

* * *

The TW-2 was much more crammed than usual. In the backmost compartment, Oc'nel had placed his Boola Carbine, with his clothes folded on top. Jazal sat in the rear right seat, while his rucksack and duffel bag were on the rear left seat. In the front passenger seat, sat his two-meter tall droid, FR-923.

As they flew into the Federal District, Oc'nel thought of an alternative to a hotel. "I think I am going to ask Fojo if I can sleep at his place. He has a spare bed, but his roommates are obnoxious."

"Bothan, I think you will prefer the place I have lined up for you," Jazal unexpectedly said.

"You have a place lined up for me?!" Oc'nel asked curiously. "What do you mean? I don't need you to plan my—"

"—fly to the Phare Apartments, Central District, apartment number 761."

"Central District, Jazal? I can't afford rent there! Well at least, I can't afford rent and a speeder."

"Don't worry," Jazal said sternly. "That won't be a problem, trust me."

They flew over an area of the Central District Oc'nel had never been to. He estimated it would be about a thirty-minute flight from the Judicial Arcology, so a tolerable commute for the patient Bothan but a longer commute than his old place in CoCo Town.

Shortly after circling the Central District Spaceport, the expanse of brightly lit buildings that seemed to just end in darkness. Oc'nel was not sure how this gap of nothingness was even possible—an area of Coruscant with no light.

"What's the end of those buildings Jazal?" he growled curiously.

"Oh, beyond those buildings is the B'ankor Refuge," Jazal explained. "The place we are going is still in the Central District not in the refuge. It is right next to the Institute of Applied Sciences and borders the B'ankor Refuge."

"All right…" Oc'nel said slowly. While Oc'nel had neither visited this part of Coruscant, nor ever met a B'ankora, he had read about the B'ankor Refuge before. A species of short, furry, bipedal herbivores called the B'ankora suffered a cataclysm on their world and were granted the very last patch of undeveloped grassland on Coruscant in perpetuity. _Living here is going to be interesting_.

He saw the apartment complex—shaped like a tall cylinder with many disc-shaped landing pads jutting out, each jutting out in front of a three-digit number. All of the units had their own landing pad but the landing pad of 761 was empty. It was about three fourths of the way up the skyscraper from where the building began.

Oc'nel set his tiny TW-2 onto the pad and once again, his speeder occupied a tiny part of the lot. If Oc'nel wanted, he could probably have fit a second TW here as well.

"What is this place?" he asked more sternly, stepping out onto the pad. His fur was swirling with suspicion.

Jazal pulled a keycard out of her cloak and swiped it. The metal door opened, revealing darkness. "Oh! I almost forgot. You have eyes. Lights!" she ordered to her electronics in the dark.

Bright lights turned on, revealing the start of a spacious room. Through doorway, a staircase on the opposite wall clued Oc'nel into the fact that unit 761 had two floors. FR walked cautiously behind him.

He stepped inside curiously, taking a sniff. It smelled a lot like Jazal, but he could also smell some potted plants and a stony Earthy clay smell. There were old artefacts in cases on some of the walls. The centre of the lower level had a white sofa in front of a large Shadowsync terminal. The floors seemed marble, but Oc'nel suspected they were not real marble. To the right of the couch, between the couch and the large window, were five large stones arranged in a circle around a meditation pad. The far side had a staircase up to the next floor and the left side of the room was the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, next to the dishwasher, was a clothes washer as was common in Coruscant apartments. The apartment was fairly spartan despite being luxuriously sized.

The thing that bothered Oc'nel however was that this place was clearly Jazal's. The Shadowsync terminal, the Jedi meditation pad, and now that he remarked the kitchen, all of the knobs had three-dimensional letters for a blind Miraluka to sense. It wasn't a place on the market Jazal happened up for him to rent. It was clearly hers and pretending otherwise simply insulted his intelligence.

"Well this is unexpected!" FR exclaimed excitedly.

"FR, stand over there and turn off. Jazal and I need some privacy," he said sternly.

"Very well," FR said, walking to the corner Oc'nel had pointed to.

Once FR turned off, Oc'nel put his hands on his knees, almost collapsing from shock with a gasp. Then he stood up straight and exploded with questions. "What is this place? Is this why you were worried when I started asking questions in the mind probe? How?! Do the Jedi know?"

Jazal sighed. "Itoll, I want you to live with me. This is my apartment. My secret. Right across from the Institute of Applied Sciences. One of a few reasons I did not want you poking around my mind without my guidance. Six years ago, one of the books Master Poof and I published was bought by the Coruscant school system. I received 20% of the profits.

Master Poof donated his credits mostly to charity. I spent a small portion of mine on an apartment—"

—Oc'nel gasped in shock. "But the Jedi… If they ever find out! Damn Jazal!"

"I know," Jazal sighed. "I wasn't planning on inviting you here until I left the Order."

"I suspected you were planning on leaving soon but how do the Jedi not know? You have had this place for six years?!" Oc'nel's respect for the Jedi Order fell precipitously. If they could not even figure out that Jazal bought an apartment, they were not only blind but stupid.

"Well," Jazal said guiltily, "I won't be living here all of the time."

Oc'nel folded his arms and looked at her suspiciously. The longer he thought about this, the more suspicious it all seemed. Far too convenient that he happened into burglary trouble after having sex with a Jedi who mysteriously owns an apartment and wants him to move in. She could have mind-tricked him into forming a relationship with her for all he knew.

"No, no, it's not whatever you are thinking. I've developed a system…" Jazal explained. "I live eight days in the Temple, one day here, that way the day of the week I am gone rotates over the course of the year. To the Jedi, they think I disappear every once in a blue moon at random—and so do many other Jedi by the way. Actually, tonight I was supposed to live in the Temple, but…"

Oc'nel's fur swirled suspiciously. _She planned this… how could she know? What have I gotten myself into? Did a Jedi mess my life up just to get me to move in with her?!_ "Jazal, did you know my apartment was going to be broken into?" he asked with a nervous gulp.

"No! Ugh," Jazal sighed. "I know how this must look. Like… somehow I arranged for unfortunate events to happen to you because I am obsessed with you—"

"—obsessed?"

"Let's go back to that later," Jazal said sternly. "What I want to say is that I had nothing to do with your apartment. I just… knew you would be moving in with me."

"How…?" Oc'nel growled nervously. "How could you know that?! I like you Jazal, I really do, and honestly, I spent all day wondering if we would ever be together again but how?"

"Remember on Alpheridies when you asked me if I had a vision?" Jazal asked.

"Uh…" Oc'nel tried to remember. "No," he admitted.

Jazal approached him and put one hand on his face stroking his snout. "Well, a few months ago, before we met, I had a vision where I left the Order and you were living with me. I didn't know if it was true, or when it would come true, or whether well… it would necessarily come true in the order I anticipated—obviously it hasn't since I am still a Jedi, but…"

"So, the Force told you I was going to live with you?" Oc'nel asked incredulously. "Don't you think the Force has bigger things to worry about?"

"Honestly, after tonight, do you doubt? And really, what do you have to lose living in my apartment, Bothan?"

"I guess nothing," Oc'nel sighed with relief. "It still is weird though Jazal. Very weird. Is this even legal?"

Jazal sounded a bit relieved now that Oc'nel was relaxed. "I know it's weird and yes…. Yes, it's legal. It is against the Jedi Code for me to own property but not against the law and also, the code says'I keep enough credits for my next meal, so that I am not hungry. If the Force wants me to have more, it finds a way of letting me know.' How do you know the Force didn't find a way to tell me to have more?"

"I guess I don't know," Oc'nel exhaled incredulously. "Still though, Jazal…" he held out his palms as if anticipating Jazal's anger or frustration, "what you said… it sounds—I really don't want to sound ungrateful—but it sounds self-serving."

Jazal folded her arms across her chest defensively. "I understand your feelings and, to be frank, I don't really agree with most of the Jedi Code," she said simply.

Oc'nel paused for a moment and looked all around the apartment. _This place is nice._ "Can I tell others I am living here? I mean… I really can't go to work every day living a lie, reporting from a dumb fake address."

"Sure, you can," Jazal said. "I'll arrange it so that you are renting from my alter alias."

"Alter alias?" Oc'nel chuckled. _Damn it Jazal._ "I'll need to tell Fojo about this place at minimum because he's flying me back from surgery. Is it okay if I show him around?"

"Yes Itoll, you can bring any of your colleagues here whenever I am not home. I am going to retire early tonight. I need to wake up early to get to the Temple tomorrow."

"Okay Jazal." Oc'nel looked around the room again. "I am going to shower off and put my clothes up." _I suppose this isn't the worst thing that could happen if someone were obsessed with me_ , he mused to himself.

"Follow me," Jazal instructed while walking towards the stairs.

Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously as he thought more about this. _The Jedi Order is fooled by someone sneaking out every eighth day in a seven-day week. What more dangerous secrets have left them completely bamboozled?_


	34. Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

"Governor, how did they do in the Ranger Course?" Sey'les growled nervously, standing at attention.

Tarkin sat behind his desk with a smirk. "At ease Captain," he said and then paused thoughtfully.

Sey'les relaxed her shoulders. Tarkin's smell was distracting Sey'les today. He clearly had the smell of another distinct human all over him and Sey'les shuddered internally wondering who, in the universe, would ever want to copulate with Tarkin. She ignored it though, to the best of her ability. _Ro'val ordered me to stay out of other's business, and I will._

The spacious office Tarkin now occupied was located in an area which used to be dozens of cubicles. It had a desk with one chair behind it, two chairs in front of it, and two comfortable armchairs cramped into the other side of the room atop a carpet decorated in the Republic Flag. A glass wall with curtains divided Tarkin's quiet, dim, office from the bright, terminal-filled, cramped hectic room containing the Strategic Advisory Cell's personal Ranger Division and the Corps of Engineering officers assigned to them.

After a long dramatic pause, Tarkin finally started talking, then sighed.

Sey'les gulped nervously.

"Rigel, as you know, showed great enthusiasm over attaining a position with military intelligence…"

"Yes Governor," Sey'les replied. _Tarkin get to the point. You are driving me crazy!_

"Well, Sey'les, your Rigel is certainly not going to get one here. During the climbing portion of the test, he let go of the rope ladder with his hands, swung upside down, and broke his ankle."

Sey'les gasped.

"I do not suffer incompetence lightly. To be frank, Captain, I prefer most of the people who work under me to be less intelligent than I am, but competent. It is always necessary to have a few smart beings around here and there but too many," Tarkin shuddered. "They are likely to try and compete with me or disobey my orders. Incompetence though, Rigel has been permanently disqualified. He passed the regular Navy physical, so I have recommended him for fleet warfare or the medic corps."

Fighting the urge to scowl, Sey'les maintained a straight face and said nothing. _This is stupid Tarkin. The ability to climb a tree does not prove competence._

"After Rigel broke his ankle, Fenron tried running through the jungle to climb the wall to render aid to Rigel and was shocked four times. I have told Archard that if Fenron passes his second try, he can join his team."

"His team sir?" Sey'les growled cautiously, fighting the urge to yell or snarl. "Respectfully Governor, you said he could be on my team." _Those humans belong on my team!_

Tarkin now sounded impatient. "Yes, but the Navy offered Archard a commission as Captain, and he passed the Ranger course so now he is a Ranger Captain. It is not up to me. He is not working for the SAC, rather, he will be leading a Ranger Team in the Anti-Terrorism Unit. Fenron will be on his team if he passes—if not, well… Captain Archard is not my problem because he is not under my command." Tarkin looked straight into Sey'les's eyes regarding her thoughtfully. "Captain Sey'les, I would have thought that you would feel proud for Archard. He attained the rank of Captain."

"Oh, yes I am very proud of Archard, Governor," Sey'les lied. _That human has only been a Judicial for three years. He should be a Lieutenant at most. He should be on my team!_

"Good," Tarkin said with a smirk. "You speak Bocce and Shyriiwook correct?"

"Yes Governor, my Shyriiwook isn't very practiced lately though," _the last time I spoke it was in a dream_. It sounded crazy even when she thought it.

"Have you ever studied Geonosian?" Tarkin asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Sorry Governor, I haven't. What is Geonosian?"

Tarkin blinked twice unable to suppress his astonishment at Sey'les's question. He smirked again confidently. "Geonosian is the language of a species that has joined the Separatists. It is quite the shame that you don't speak it. In any case, I need you, Joran's team, and Lieutenant Wulf to help our young Captain Krennic—"

"—who's that?" Sey'les gasped in shock. "Governor," she added with a wince. _Tarkin is giving me too many unknowns._

Tarkin sighed impatiently. "Krennic is a Corps of Engineers member within the Strategic Advisory Cell not assigned to us," Tarkin said, trilling the r in Krennic. "He has been assigned to leading construction of the Judicial Arcology and has nothing to do with intelligence work," he paused as if thinking more about Krennic, on the verge of daydreaming. Tarkin caught himself and began speaking again. "However, Krennic speaks Geonosian and is the only person we can find who does. They have put him on loan with the Senate Bureau of Intelligence temporarily. You and your team, in turn, are being loaned to the SBI from the SAC to aid to aid Krennic any way you can. As you can see, it is all quite simple."

Sey'les fought the urge to roll her eyes. _That is literally a three-way interagency loan and you call it 'simple.'_ "All right Governor, I just hope this doesn't interfere with my duties. I have—"

"—I will give you a two day's break from searching for new team members while you help Krennic," Tarkin interrupted. "There is also one other matter. Sey'les, I let all of my Ranger Captains pick their team's callsign. What do you want Ranger Team 2's to be?"

Sey'les thought for a moment. _Muun? Hmmm… 'Rogue' would be kind of cool—nah way too cliché_. "Muun Governor," Sey'les said confidently.

"Muun? Just like your team," Tarkin paused and entered something onto his desk terminal. "Muun it shall be."

"Thank you, Governor," Sey'les said with a smile.

"Dismissed."

Sey'les exited Tarkin's office, sighing in relief the moment the glass door closed behind her. On her way to her desk, she passed Joran who was no doubt going into Tarkin's office for instructions.

Wulf sat next to Sey'les's empty chair, alone at a table with eight chairs. A constant reminder to Sey'les that she needs to find more Rangers, fast. The other Ranger Captain had already successfully found eight Judicials and SBI operatives for his team.

Sey'les still had no idea who the Strategic Advisory Cell actually advised, but she was happy to be promoted and happy to have a command position.

"How did it go ma'am?" Wulf asked as she sat down.

"Confusing…" Sey'les admitted. "Once Tarkin gets Joran up to speed—"

"—flow charts!" Tarkin exclaimed in an elevated voice Sey'les could hear from the office. "Lieutenant, I don't want you wasting Captain Krennic's time!"

"What is it Captain?" Wulf asked.

Sey'les scooted her chair closer to him whispered, "Tarkin…" she was unable to suppress a giggle, "Tarkin is mad because Joran just said something about flow charts. I can't hear anymore though because they've both gotten quieter."

Wulf chuckled a little bit. "Kriffing humans," he said, shaking his head.

"In any case," Sey'les began, this time in a normal louder voice, "Governor Tarkin wants us to help some Captain Krennic. Apparently, he speaks something called 'Geonosian,' have you ever heard of it?"

"No, I haven't ma'am," Wulf said scratching his head.

"Governor Tarkin says they are Separatists."

"But… you don't speak Geonosian, right?" Wulf asked.

"Like I said Lieutenant, it's confusing," Sey'les groaned. "Also, they made Archard a Captain so he's not on our team and Rigel got DQ'd. Fenron failed, but he is allowed to redo the test if he wants. The problem is, Fenron wants on Archard's team so we are at square one."

"Shassa," Wulf muttered. "There are still other Judicials though we could recommend. Plenty of 'em ma'am," he said more optimistically.

"Yep," Sey'les agreed. "Hopefully, they won't screw with me and promote everyone I recommend to Captain. I am distracting myself though. Wulf, here's what I need to tell you, we are helping Krennic for the next two days and get to take a break from trying to build our team."

"Hmmm…" Wulf said thoughtfully, "that might be a nice break I suppose."

* * *

"I thought we were taking from your whole team Joran," Sey'les remarked as they stepped into the hallway. It was only Joran, Sey'les, and Wulf.

"Well ma'am," Joran replied, "I managed to convince Governor Tarkin that using my whole team for this task is a waste of time. I need to figure out what Krennic wants, then I can figure out what roles the other engineers will play, design a flow chart, and send it to them." He sounded testy after his argument with Tarkin.

"All right," Sey'les replied. They continued walking in silence.

At one point, a Navy ensign passed them in the hall and said, "Good afternoon, ma'am, good afternoon gentlemen."

They are replied "good afternoon." All of this formality was beginning to irk Sey'les.

The door of the SBI's makeshift Operations Room looked like a plain metal door. The difference between it, and the other doors in the hallway, was that it had no window. When they arrived, Wulf opened the door cautiously.

Twenty Corps of Engineers members and SBI officers were seated at various stations. Most of them were human, but there was one very shaggy red and brown furred male Bothan wearing a white uniform, and one green Miralan female wearing a white uniform. All of the humans also wore white SBI or Corps of Engineers uniforms with black pants.

The far side of the room had a huge visual display up. On the visual display were dozens of phrases that made absolutely no sense—phrases like **'it west they sunset upon happy times,' 'go in AstroBar nine midnight to flies,' 'nine by grid king to sleepless.'** In front of the displays hovered four JN-66 analysis droids connected to various ports in front of the giant screen.

Sey'les sniffed the air curiously. Amidst the cacophony of humans, she was able to focus on the Bothan; far too musky to be anything but a Bothawui Bothan. _I wonder what his clan—_

" _—_ Greetings Captain, I am Lieutenant Orson Krennic," a young, light brown-haired, fairly pale human male said, extending a hand.

While continuing to sniff the air, Sey'les shook his hand. _Holy shtak! Orson Krennic smells… he has Tarkin's smell on him. Ugh! SNAP OUT OF IT._ Sey'les straightened the scowl on her face. "Greetings to you too Captain, I am Captain Sey'les," she said with as calm of a voice as she could manage. Faking a smile, she let go of his hand. _Captain me, Captain you, Captain Archard, we are all Captains here now._ "This is Lieutenant Wulf and Lieutenant Joran."

Krennic was staring at Sey'les curiously. "Nice to meet you all. What you are about to hear is classified. Sey'les, Lieutenants, if you will follow Ensign Oryon he will show you."

Sey'les was a bit flustered. "Captain, if you don't mind my asking, who are we reporting to? Tarkin?"

"No Sey'les, we are reporting to Director Armand Isard of the SBI, and Captain, for the next few days, so are you."

"Ma'am, sirs, if you will follow me," said the male Bothan, Oryon apparently.

The trio followed Oryon across the room towards the giant screen past the busy work of all of the intelligence personnel. "Ensign, if you don't mind my asking," Sey'les said cautiously. "What is your clan?"

Oryon looked a bit flustered. "I took my wife's name. Respectfully ma'am, I want to avoid Bothan clan nonsense."

Wulf winced, expecting Sey'les to respond.

Sey'les scowled judgmentally and said nothing. _What type of Bothan leaves their Clan?!_

As they neared the terminal, from a speaker situated in the left corner of the giant screen emerged a chorus of screeches and clicks. Sey'les drew nearer to the comm curiously.

"That," Oryon said, "is Geonosian."

"None of us speak Geonosian Ensign," Wulf said.

"I know that sir. Nor do I," Oryon replied, "but Captain Krennic has tasks for us that do not require speaking Geonosian. Sir, since you have four arms, your job will be to provide organic verification that the droids translations line up."

"What does that even mean?" Wulf asked sternly.

"Basically, sir, for every fourth word along one of the tracks, you will record it onto this datapad. One track will play in each of your ears," Oryon explained, as if this convoluted procedure made any sense.

"All right…" Wulf replied slowly folding both sets of his arms.

Oryon turned to face Sey'les, "Captain Sey'les, you and I will listen in ourselves to this recording."

Sey'les blinked twice. "But I don't speak Geonosian."

"Ma'am, I know that. The droids speak Geonosian and so does Captain Krennic. Our job will be to count the number of distinct individuals that are speaking in any segment. You see, the droids can translate Geonosian, but for some reason we do not understand, they cannot discern Geonosian individuals. We can," Oryon said, brushing both of his pointy Bothan ears with his right hand, giving a toothy smirk.

"Ensign, how does this help the droids?" Sey'les asked curiously.

"You see ma'am, the droids don't know how many individuals are talking at once, nor who is saying what. If we tag the sound segments as belonging to a particular Geonosian, the droids will be able to accurately string the sentences together."

"Well what do I do?" Joran asked impatiently, allowing his hands to fall to his sides.

"Your team, once you bring the data to them, will design a computer program to delve through our data, looking for cyphers or perhaps technological schematics. Captain Krennic is very optimistic and believes this data is technical," Oryon said. He scratched the back of his head when he finished talking. His fur twirled with uncertainty.

To Sey'les, this Bothan body language said _I think this is very dumb too by the way._

Joran smiled and looked positively gleeful about the task at hand.

Sey'les sighed. "All right Lieutenant, where we sit?"

"Ma'am you will be at this station right here," Oryon said, pointing to a desk with a headset. He turned to face Wulf, "sir, you will be seated at the analysis table," he pointed to a table where four white coated intelligence officers sat. "And finally, you sir," he spun around to Joran, "will be working directly with Captain Krennic over there."

Oryon waited with Sey'les once the rest of the group left to their stations.

After taking a seat, Sey'les put her headset on. She winced in shock and adjusted the volume. It was a cacophony of screeching squealing beings; interspersed among the squeals were clicking noises.

"So, here is the time display ma'am," Oryon said pointing to the line at the bottom of a mostly white display with crusty cloudy black shapes on the terminal in front of Sey'les. "This here means one second in," he dragged his furry finger to the right to the next notch "two seconds in, and so on. This is called a 'spectrograph' and it is how we digitally represent sounds. This," Oryon brushed his furry finger on a fat black bar running through the staticky chaos, "is the first formant and that one is the second formant."

Sey'les blinked impatiently. "Okay Lieutenant, what do I, you know, do?"

"Well ma'am, if you hear one Geonosian at one second, drag your finger on the screen up to the spot where you hear that Geonosian stop talking like so… let's say this one talked from one second to two seconds," Oryon clicked a yellow square, then dragged his furry finger with a yellow highlighter line following it. "Now the individual stopped talking and a new one starts," Oryon clicked a pink square and dragged a pink line across a new section of the spectrograph, this time from two seconds to three seconds, showing where a new individual had started, and then stopped, talking.

"All right, I get it," Sey'les erased the two lines. She hit play and once again exposed herself to the inane clicking and screeching. "What do I do if two of these guys are talking at once?"

"Simple," Oryon answered, "you just use two highlighter colours."

"All right, rogue," Sey'les said, dragging the yellow highlighter from 0 seconds to 1.7 seconds. Then she clicked the pink highlighter and dragged it from 1.7 seconds to 1.9 seconds.

"Do you think you have the procedure down Captain?" Oryon asked.

"Yeah, I got this," Sey'les said as she began tracing more highlights over the segments. _Huh, this is not actually that hard!_ It was almost rewardingly fun in an artistic way Sey'les did not usually explore—getting the finger-painted highlights to perfectly trace the different Geonosian squeals. Suddenly, her datapad buzzed. Sey'les began swiping her datapad to read—

"—Captain Sey'les," Krennic said in a testy voice, walking up behind her from nowhere. "This is a top-secret facility. You are not allowed to use electronics in here with connections to the outside."

"Sorry Krennic," Sey'les winced. _That was stupid._ "I'll turn it off. It won't happen again."

"Thank you."

* * *

The group of twenty-one officers wearing white uniforms and two officers wearing green uniforms, Sey'les and Wulf, were now on their first break. The Operations Room had its own lunchroom to avoid mingling between officers doing urgent work and the rest of the building.

Krennic sat at the same table as Wulf, Sey'les, and Joran. He seemed to be trying to get to know them better.

"So, Captain Sey'les," Krennic said after chewing a meatball covered in some sort of gravy, "I hear you speak Shyriiwook."

"Yeah, a little bit," she answered, before eating a piece of potato cube.

"Why?" Krennic asked pointedly.

"Um… it's complicated," Sey'les winced. She remembered Archumagh, tall, sexy, beast; 150 kilos of raw musculature— _if only Wookiees weren't total assholes they'd be perfect,_ Sey'les scowled.

Krennic stared at her curiously, his eyebrows high, his eyes wide in surprise as if perceiving the genre of her thoughts.

Sey'les blinked and straightened her face realising Krennic was studying her.

Krennic's face straightened. "Sorry Sey'les," he stammered, "non-human facial expressions and body language is well… a side hobby of mine. I daresay Sey'les, you Bothans have quite a lot of intriguing facial expressions. Your faces are now my second favourite, only after Chagrians."

Sey'les kept her face straight. "Thank you," she said curtly, not sure what else to say.

It was Wulf's turn to scowl.

"Oh! Ardennians are interesting too! You have very interesting facial expressions and four arms to back them up!" Krennic said suddenly, raising his palms in human gesture of de-escalation, as if Bothans being the centre of his focus were the issue.

Joran smirked a little bit.

"Why do you speak Geonosian?" Sey'les blurted out suddenly, intending to change the topic of conversation.

"Ah, I find the Geonosians fascinating," Krennic sighed enviously. Did you know, Joran, that they invented AI Autonomous Thinking?" he asked the Lieutenant.

_You also find Tarkin 'fascinating,' no doubt,_ Sey'les thought wryly. Governor Tarkin had an okay face, Sey'les supposed, but he was lanky, gaunt, and worst of all, arrogant and condescending. _Far from the sculpture that is—._

_—_ Wulf turned and stared back at Sey'les. She winced and looked back at Krennic.

"No sir, I didn't to be honest," Joran replied. "That is fascinating though. I shall endeavour to read more on the Geonosians."

Krennic adjusted his floppy white sleeves to avoid getting them in his food before he picked up another meatball with a fork. "Indeed. It is a shame the Republic did not pay the Geonosians more attention. They should all be under our employ, not the Techno Union's," Krennic sighed longingly and then ate the meatball.

"If I might ask, I am sorry sir if I don't have the need to know, but I may be able to help…" Joran started then grew quieter as his sentence went on.

Well? Spit it out Lieutenant!" Krennic huffed impatiently. "If I don't know what it is you want to ask, then I cannot help you."

"Sir, there is a distortion in all of the Geonosian sound files. If I know what material is causing the distortion filtering the Geonosian speech, my team will be able to design a program account for the filter," Joran said nervously. "I would need to know the exact properties of the filter though."

"Ahh, I see no reason not to tell you then," Krennic said with a smile. "The Geonosian clips come from a recording device within Passel Argente's hat—the former Koorivar Senator and traitor to the Republic. We don't understand how or why, but it seems that the hat is on Geonosis and has been receiving Geonosian speech input for the last five days. I can give you a picture of the hat, and even its molecular composition."

"A Koorivar?" Sey'les asked, raising an eyebrow curiously in a gesture she had learned from humans. "Why would a Koorivar be receiving nonstop conversation from Geonosians?"

"We don't know," Krennic replied with a shrug. "At first, it was actually all Koorivar input. Then six days ago the input stopped for twelve hours and since then, it has been pure Geonosian. I was brought on four days ago."

"Sir, do you think the traitor is on Geonosis then?" Wulf asked after wolfing down a meatball.

"Difficult to determine. We honestly have no idea what happens on Geonosis."

"What happens on Geonosis stays on Geonosis then, am I right sir?" Wulf said jovially, and slapped Krennic playfully on the back with one arm.

Krennic lurched forwards and gasped in shock.

Sey'les winced, her fur swirling with embarrassment. "WULF!" she snarled.

"Sorry ma'am, sorry sir," Wulf said quickly. "Won't happen again."

"Oh, that's all right," Krennic said diplomatically, adjusting his tunic. "This is probably the first time in a Top-Secret facility for you both," he said looking at Sey'les and Wulf, "and both of you were Judicials five days ago. We are all very new at this."


	35. Jazal

Coruscant

A buzzing noise woke Jazal up. She sensed she was alone in bed. _Where's Itoll?_ Placing her hand on the empty spot, it was still warm. Jazal sensed "05:38" on her Shadowsync chronometer. _Ugh I am up an hour early._

The buzzing noise continued. Jazal slipped on her night robe and walked out of the bedroom, down the stairs. She sensed Oc'nel lying on his belly atop a plastic rug with FR standing over him.

"Your fur is so matted," FR's feminine robotic voice said.

"Ouch!" Oc'nel whined. "FR be careful."

Jazal smirked. If anything else had woken her an hour early, it would be irritating—this, this she could not miss. "Good morning Itoll."

Oc'nel gasped. "Sorry," he winced as FR continued buzzing an electric razor over his back with one arm. "I didn't mean to wake you. Normally I do this in the shower so fur—ouch!"

With one of her other six arms, FR was running this paintbrush looking comb through a blob of fur behind Oc'nel's left ear. "If you would just comb yourself when your hair got shaggy, Itoll, this would never happen. You have apposable thumbs and no excuse."

Jazal chuckled. "Give him a break FR, we were deployed for a month."

"You met our patron whilst on deployment Itoll? I am impressed," FR said as she untangled his mat.

"She's not 'our patron' FR," Oc'nel snarled.

Jazal laughed in earnest. "I am sorry Itoll, this conversation is just so funny," she said in response to Oc'nel's glares.

"What should I call you Jazal? Honestly, I don't mind girlfriend but—"

"—how about… partner?" Jazal suggested. "It is annoying constantly talking about each other as innuendo-laced ' _friends,_ ' don't you think?"

"Yeah," Oc'nel smiled. "So, she is my partner FR."

"Okay, she is your partner then," FR stopped doing anything.

Oc'nel rolled onto his back without being told, clearly familiar with the procedure.

FR began running the electric razor over his chest up to his chin, cutting away the start of a mane that was beginning to grow.

"What are you going to do about the fur on my floor?" Jazal asked sternly, suddenly not amused upon realising how much had spilled off the plastic rug.

"I have a vacuum cleaner function," FR said, pulling a hose out of her side and turning it on to demonstrate.

"Good. Itoll, I am going to get ready to return to the Temple. I will probably live there for the next eight days, so I will see you in a bit more than a week. If something comes up, you might see me early."

"How do we get down from here other than the speeder pad?" Oc'nel asked curiously. FR was now shaving the fur on one of his armpits.

"There's a door down that hallway. You can take the elevator down to level 1, then take the travellator to the B'ankor Refuge station right at the wall to the refuge—that's the nearest Maglev Station. Ten minutes further away, in the opposite direction is the Institute of Applied Sciences Station."

"Jazal, if you want, I can give you a lift to the temple. It's the least I can do," Oc'nel insisted.

"Itoll, it would look suspicious if a Bothan Judicial dropped me off in a speeder," Jazal replied sternly folding her arms over her chest.

"All right Jazal, wait… isn't it suspicious for you to come to and from here wearing Jedi Robes?" Oc'nel stood up and FR pulled out an eyelash curler. She began curling the Bothan's eyelashes.

Jazal momentarily lost her train of thought sensing the spectacle at hand. _You are a lot more interesting than I thought, Itoll._

"To be honest," Jazal sighed, regaining her train of thought. "I worried about passers-by wondering why a Jedi would be here too my first few commutes. Then, I realised, dressing in civilian clothes at the Temple before coming here is even more suspicious. I was asked many questions when I changed out of my Jedi Robes. Jedi go about on Coruscant. Some of the neighbours might have clued in but no one has reported me yet."

"Huh," Oc'nel said, thinking aloud. "I guess the Jedi are just… less omniscient than I thought." FR was now curling his eyelashes on his left eye after removing his eyepatch.

"Indeed," Jazal said wearily.

* * *

Jazal's new assignment at the Jedi Temple was as DNA data analyst and DNA extractor. Crime scene analysts received samples from all over the Galaxy related to Jedi investigations. If Jedi-related crime scenes were nearby—which had not happened yet—she would go to the field to help gather evidence directly.

In the Crime Laboratory of the Temple Science division, she worked alongside another Jedi Consular who also held a PhD; a very old human Jedi Master named Wilkol Shin-Zo, alongside two human analysts, a female named Tassie Moor, and a male named Archie Sy. From their profiles on her Shadowsync, Jazal had read that Tassie Moor had blonde hair and Archie Sy had black hair—Jazal sensed his hair was also short and very curly.

Both Jazal and Wilkol hung their outer robes on the rack at the entrance to the lab and wore lab coats over their underrobes. Tassie Moor and Archie Sy just wore standard laboratory clothes.

The left side of the lab had a large walled off section on the right which stored samples—it had biohazardous sample chambers, refrigerated chambers, and also plastic tubs of unhazardous samples stored at room temperature. Most of these were electronics.

The right side of the lab had two rows of terminals, microscopes, and also one JN-66 analysis droid who hovered from station to station.

As Jazal thought about her assignment with Averross, she suspected the Jedi probably wanted to stick her here all along and just wanted her to experience what it was like for Jedi in the field to grab evidence themselves. Oddly however, her first Judicial mission happened to be an espionage one. She also still did not understand why they made her a Jedi Master, nor whether she was expected to take on a Padawan soon. Taking on a Padawan for five or six years would certainly disrupt her plans for the immediate future.

Jazal held a broken cylinder in a plastic bag and looked at it worriedly. "Archie, are you sure the probe pieces we received from Skako have been completely cleaned of all Hydrogen Sulfide? I wouldn't want to—"

"—Jazal, if it's a gas—"

"—I know that Archie."

"Then, you know that most of it will just float away. Respectfully Master, we do this all the time," Archie Sy said sternly. "We can't clean these, or we'll wipe off the evidence. I can place it in the analyser if you feel safer."

"That won't be necessary," Jazal sighed. She stuck the plastic bag containing the cylinder into the analyser connected to her Shadowsync. She ran her fingers over the screen, waiting for the results.

"Wilkol," Jazal gasped in surprise.

"Yes?" Wilkol asked in a gravelly voice.

"This says there is human DNA on the Skako probe. How is that even possible? A human should need a space suit on Skako."

"Perhaps the probe was contaminated before the incident," Wilkol suggested.

"Perhaps," Jazal agreed.

Suddenly, Jazal heard Oc'nel's baritone growl whining worriedly in her head. " _I don't want a human eye! That's not fair!"_

_Dammit. What could possibly be happening to my Bothan?!_ Jazal started quickly logging all of the information from the Skako evidence into the record. _Human DNA found on the probe._

"Wilkol, something has come up. I need to go out for a little bit. I will try to be back as soon as possible," she said urgently.

"All right Jazal, you logged all of your results? Don't forget to log out of your terminal today."

"Thank you for reminding me, I'll be back later," Jazal promised.

"Just try not to make a habit out of ducking out early."

* * *

Most Jedi never really had to be anywhere when they weren't on an urgent assignment. The Jedi with jobs in the Temple were a minority. No one asked Jazal where she was going, or even gave her a second glance on her way out.

After walking to Temple Plaza Station as quickly as she could, Jazal boarded the Maglev to the Judicial Arcology. Jazal could not fathom what could possibly be happening at the Arcology Hospital, but it did not sound good.

"Excuse me, do you know where your cybernetic implantation centre is?" Jazal asked urgently to the hospital information droid.

"It is on floor 97, room 9789. That turbolift—"

"—thank you," Jazal interrupted heading to the turbolift.

As the turbolift ascended higher into the complex, Jazal began to feel Oc'nel's presence, and then Fojo's. _Ugh… what if Fojo sees me—no time to worry about that._ She stepped out of the turbolift into the hall. Jazal sensed 9787 from the lettering nearest to her and proceded down the hall. _98788… 9789, good_.

As in most waiting areas, there were rows of plain chairs facing the reception desk. Only one being was in the waiting area currently—Fojo.

Fojo was seated facing away from the door looking down at his datapad and did not turn around. _Phew._

Jazal approached the front desk and popped her hood up cautiously, "I would like to speak with the doctor currently operating on Agent Itoll Oc'nel," she whispered.

The Gran desk attendant looked at her with a puzzled face. "Why are you whispering?" she asked aloud.

"Sore throat," Jazal lied.

The Gran gave her a stern look, clearly one of disbelief. "The doctor is busy Master Jedi and—"

"—I need to speak with him."

"Okay, I will tell him you are here. No promises," the Gran huffed.

A few minutes later a Pantoran doctor emerged looking very angry. "Master Jedi—" he started.

"—Can we speak in the clinic?"

"Sure," he sighed, opening the door allowing Jazal to leave the waiting area into the cybernetics clinic. He led her into the hallway in front of the surgical theatre. "We are very busy right now and have just administered anaesthesia. This has to be—"

"—it is my understanding that you are planning to install a human cybernetic ocular implant on a Bothan," Jazal said in as calm of a voice as she could muster.

"How did you—never mind. Master Jedi, we do have a Bothan ocular implant, but it is not included in the standard medical—"

"—so what is the problem?" Jazal interjected.

"We can install it but will cost him 40,000 credits. He can't afford it. Additionally, we offered to compensate him 2,000 credits if he accepted a human eye implant. It is not very often that we get Bothan patients and it is of scientific—"

"—you are doing cybernetics research on a patient who came here requiring an implant? He does not have informed consent. Additionally, there is reason to believe his brain will not compensate for a human ocular implant. He came here wearing an eyepatch because his brain was already failing to compensate for his scotoma. The ethics board will never—"

"—and Master Jedi, you are?" the Pantoran interjected curiously.

"Dr Jazal," she sighed. "My name is not to leave this room. I will pay you 40,000 credits for his implant."

"All right," the Pantoran said slowly and very confused clearly wondering: _how does a Jedi have that much money?_

"I will also pay you for your discretion. How does another 40,000 sound?"

Jazal sensed the Pantoran's eyes widen in shock, then he straightened his facial expression. "It sounds… agreeable," he said in a neutral tone pretending like that amount of money was _agreeable_. "What do I tell Agent Oc'nel?"

"Tell him… tell him that you decided to give him the Bothan ocular implant and that it won't cost him any extra. You can even write it off on your taxes as a donation this way," Jazal said slyly.

"Good idea," the Pantoran pondered. "I'll have the reception process your payments."

"Do that. Also, Doctor…?"

"Dojir."

"Dr Dojir," Jazal said sternly, "if you ever mess with Itoll Oc'nel again, you will regret it."

"Dr Jazal," Dojir said with a cynical chuckle. "I cannot describe how glad I am that my tax money is going to Jedi like you," he said with a sarcastic leer.

"You have a surgery to do," Jazal said unamused. "Don't mess it up. He also has an implant behind his brain at the edge of his skin. I understand that this is a unique opportunity to examine Bothan brain chips. You can scan it if you like for your research, you can take as many photos of it as you like, but stay away from it. Do not touch it or tamper with it. If you need to date the scar tissue for intelligence, no surgery is necessary. I can tell you it was implanted in his brain when he was fifteen."

"Very well Master Jedi," Dojir sighed. "Thank you for very much for the information. What colour do you want his eye to be?" he asked.

Jazal was taken aback by the question. "I am not going to decide for Itoll. Did he not tell you?"

"He wanted a light blue eye—it doesn't match his other eye," Dojir said in a puzzled voice. "I can correct his heterochromia for you if you would like."

"We are not going to correcthis heterochromia if he doesn't want it to be." Jazal glared at Dojir with her eyeless face.


	36. Itoll Oc'nel

Coruscant

"Uh... wha—" Oc'nel gagged, his mouth full of gauze. He blinked his eyes. To his surprise, it did not hurt when his lid covered his left ocular implant.

He awoke in the mostly grey and black surgical theatre on a lone operating bed. A harsh, bright, round light shone down upon him from above.

"Open your mouth, please," an intimidating DD-13 droid with three legs and three red eyes repeated.

Oc'nel opened his mouth and the droid removed the bloody gauze.

He curiously moved his tongue to the side of his mouth and felt brand new teeth implants. "What's going on doctor?" Oc'nel slurred to the Pantoran.

"We have successfully implanted your teeth and your new eye," Dojir said soothingly, handing Oc'nel a plastic cup of water.

Oc'nel sipped it.

"I don't see any different than before. I guess the human eye works after all," he slurred after finishing a sip. He passed the cup to the DD-13 droid.

"Actually, I decided to give you a Bothan ocular implant, and it seems to be working perfectly," Dojir handed Oc'nel a mirror.

The new eye looked almost like a real one. The eyeball even looked moist, and it was prettier than his old favourite eye had been. It had no blemishes on the sclera and was the same shade of light blue. There was only a tiny metal band above it that could be easily covered once his fur grows back. It did not look like at all the hideous monstrosity he was told the Republic would pay for.

"As you can see, light blue just like you asked for. It is also not magnetic, unlike how the base human implant would have been." Dojir flipped on an ultraviolet light. "Can you see a dark distortion in this quadrant?" Dojir asked, withdrawing the mirror and replacing it with a Bothan-style diagnostic colour wheel.

"Yeah," Oc'nel slurred.

"Good. You are able to see ultraviolet absorption! You are able to see well… like a Bothan naturally can see," Dojir said with a smile. He looked impressed with his handiwork.

The DD-13 droid dropped a thick warm blanket on the shivering Bothan.

"You are going to feel a bit cold for the next fifteen minutes as the sedatives wear off," Dojir explained.

Oc'nel did not really feel much pain, but he could taste blood in his mouth from the teeth implants. He moved his hand curiously towards his eye—

"—don't touch your eye yet. Not until tomorrow at the very earliest," Dojir said sternly.

"Sorry doc," Oc'nel slurred wearily. "How much is the Bothan implant going to—"

"—it is free. On me," Dojir said simply.

"What? You said it was 40,000 credits! That's the cost of..." Oc'nel stuttered. He could not even fathom what had just happened.

"I will be financially fine, don't you worry about me," Dojir said with a confident smile, putting his hand on Oc'nel's shoulder.

Oc'nel was almost in shock. He leaned forward, pushing the blankets up, and proceeded to hug Doctor Dojir tightly. "Thank you for everything!" he stammered in a slurry voice and smiled.

Dojir grimaced a little bit and hugged Oc'nel back. "It is really not a problem," he replied. The Pantoran pat Oc'nel gingerly on the back.

* * *

"He really just gave you the implant?" the Rodian asked in shock.

Fojo and Oc'nel were the only beings in the waiting room. Fojo was still wearing his Judicial uniform from an in-house day training session for medics earlier. Oc'nel had changed out of his hospital gown into black cargo pants and a thin blue long sleeve shirt.

"Yep," Oc'nel slurred with a toothy smile. "Nicest doctor I have ever seen. He still gets paid some I suppose, the Republic pays him for his hours on the surgery… or something," he added with a Spacer hand shrug.

"Well, let's get you home Oc'nel," Fojo replied. "Where are your speeder keys?"

"Here," Oc'nel said, slapping the keys down on Fojo's hands.

"Still going to the Phare Apartments, Central District?" Fojo asked.

"Yep," Oc'nel smiled. "Oh wait, I need to pick up my prescription first."

"Yeah, I knew that," Fojo smiled.

"How?"

"You know how your ocular implant doesn't hurt at all right now?" Fojo chuckled.

"Yeah?" Oc'nel growled nervously.

"That's gonna change in an hour."

* * *

All Species Week celebrations were now entering their first evening. Every speeder lane in the sky over the Federal District and Central District was completely jammed with traffic. Long lines of speeders crawled slowly across the sky as high up as the stratosphere. The only way to skip them was to fly into low orbit.

Fireworks were going off overhead in every direction. Numerous parties were happening on floating platforms and the rooftops under them.

From the steering wheel, Fojo marvelled at all of the sights. "Whoa Itoll, look at that! Is that—"

"OOOWWWW!" Oc'nel snarled. "MY FACE!"

"How long ago did you take—"

"—fifteen minutes ago."

"Good," Fojo said "It will start helping soon. Seriously though look out the window, Bothan. I think that's supposed to be Botha'ahir!"

"What?" Oc'nel slurred, looking down out the left window to where Fojo was pointing. He opened his door—

"—stop that Oc'nel! You are going to fall!"

Below them was a floating dome. It had several platforms jutting out of it for hundreds of parked speeders and one platform for parked busses. The dome was lightly dusted in a coat of red paint to resemble Botha'ahir dust.

Oc'nel sighed and closed his door. "I think it's a music event," he slurred.

Fojo steered the wheel sharply to the right and drifted out of the speeder lane, he spiralled slowly down to the dome.

"Hey, where we going? Where are you taking my speeder?!" Oc'nel snarled.

"If I brought you to a music event would you remain calm and not drink any alcohol?"

"I almost never drink—"

"—good," Fojo smiled. "I have never seen Botha'ahir stuff before."

"It's probably just a bunch of Bothan rednecks Fojo, mostly Bothawui fanboys and fangirls," Oc'nel sighed. "You are gonna be disappointed."

"We'll only be there for a thirty minutes tops. I gotta get you home anyways. I'll take care of you, I promise," the Rodian said earnestly.

* * *

Fojo paid the parking attendant fifteen credits after they landed. A giant banner hung on the outside of the dome: **Пана Пендентифиск Оўоло** [ **The Dome Heads** ] **.** Through the dome, on the outside, only a low vibrating base tone could be heard mixed with the noise pollution from the air traffic passing by.

Oc'nel and Fojo walked curiously through the parking lot towards the nearest door.

"My face is feeling a bit better now," Oc'nel sighed.

"Yeah, you are gonna be on a soft foods diet for the next three days like the doctor said right?"

"Yep," Oc'nel replied.

"Let's see if we can find you some ice cream in there… or something," Fojo said approaching the dome door. It opened automatically. "Whoa… it really smells like Bothan."

"You're telling me," Oc'nel chuckled.

They stepped into the dim dome. Spotlights in various shades of violet and purple were shining down onto a huge crowd.

Thousands of short Bothans were scattered all over the place. Some were wandering around between arcades or concession stands, but most were jammed around a central stage. The smell of cooked foods, baked goods, and beer cut through the overwhelming musk of tens of thousands of Bothans bottled up under a dome.

Some of the Bothan rednecks were yelling in excitement along with the song. It was a song Oc'nel had never heard before, but the band snarled the chorus: _Ęrz dųmskhį bhęthą—it's a dome life_ , repeatedly interspersed through rounds of Hyena-like yips.

Upon closer inspection, Oc'nel saw a few humans here and there, and even a tall Wookiee towering over the crowd. Most of the non-Bothans seemed to be here with a Bothan significant other. He could see a short brown-furred Bothan with a grey mane smiling, holding hands with a confused human female, pulling her along between the crowds to a spot nearer to the music. There was a group of hollering multicoloured Twi'leks, the drunkest Twi'leks he had ever seen, yelling excitedly while leaning on a handrail at the edge of the crowd. All around them were empty bottles. To top off the low-brow spectacle, surrounding the perimeter of the crowd were flaming garbage bins.

"You know what Fojo?" Oc'nel slurred as they walked between concession stands towards the crowd.

"Yeah?"

"You can't drink either. You're the driver."

"Oh yeah," Fojo said in a disappointed voice. "Shassa! You're right! Wait a minute… HASHTIVAR?" he yelled in excitement.

A Chelidae was seated at the edge of the crowd in an electric wheelchair. "Hey Fojo!" he yelled back.

Oc'nel staggered forwards, following Fojo as he jogged towards Hashtivar.

"I heard you got really kriffed up! I am sorry I haven't visited—"

"—ah that's all right," Hashtivar said. "I heard you got your face kriffed up Oc'nel."

"Yeah," Oc'nel slurred.

"Are you drunk? Haha, I've never seen you drink before."

"—nah he just got his ocular implant and new teeth like an hour ago," Fojo explained.

"Wait, you took Itoll here after a major surgery?" Hashtivar asked incredulously, leaning back in his wheelchair so he could look up at Fojo.

"Yeah, just for a bit," Fojo said in a slightly guilty tone. "Are you here by yourself? How'd you get here?"

"Nah, I took the hospital bus here. Actually, I invited Sey'les and Wulf and we rode here in the back of the bus. They are getting beer and—"

Oc'nel gasped and shuddered as ice-cold beer rained down from the sky, accompanied by the dank musky smell that could only be Adumari Beer, now mixed with the smell of wet Bothan.

"YEAH!" a familiar female voice snarled excitedly.

_Dammit Sey'les you have a problem. You are like… thirty years old._ "Hey Sey'les," Oc'nel growled, spinning around to glare at the beer-covered Bothan. Wulf stood at her side carrying five cans of beer on a cardboard tray also spattered in beer.

"It's hey Captain now, or ma'am to you Oc'nel," Sey'les replied with a slurry chuckle.

"He just had surgery," Hashtivar said urgently, "try not to get food or drinks on him. It might get infected."

"Oh! I am sorry," Sey'les gasped, her eyes wide in drunk-shock. "I didn't know," she apologised frantically, handing Oc'nel a stack of napkins.

"That's all right," Oc'nel slurred, carefully dabbing his left eye. "Do you know if they have any icy food or drinks that aren't alcoholic?"

"Yeah," Wulf said with a cocky smile, pointing three of his hands in different directions. "Those two stands have ice cream and the other has… some sort of icy fruit thing."

Oc'nel felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. He looked down at a short, light brown-furred, Bothawui-Bothan-smelling teenage girl.

_"Podo ko ba mesha korn 'yovomat ta?"_ [Could I have an autograph?]she asked.

Oc'nel blinked twice. It took him a moment to realise what was going on. "Nokiz ko erz ar korm band _."_ [I am not in the band,] he replied with a smile.

The Bothan child looked very confused.

_"Erz pan Itoll vor korm Botha'ahir men nokiz zhiza erz ar korm band."_ [Itoll is from Botha'ahir but he is not in the band,] Sey'les slurred in a drunken yet consoling voice, clumsily putting her hand on the girl's shoulder.

" _Horseya ko. Mapak."_ [I understand. That's rogue,]the teen said with an excited toothy smile and ran off into the crowd.

"What was that about?" Wulf asked scratching his head.

Hashtivar opened a can of beer, took a sip, then set it on his wheelchair arm.

"Oh," Oc'nel chuckled, "she thought I was in the band. She was very confused when I told her I wasn't."

Fojo roared with laughter.

"Why?" Hashtivar asked. "You don't look very… band material."

"They can see that I am from Botha'ahir because my eyes are different colours, I am tall—"

—Fojo laughed.

"Okay, I am tall for a Bothan," Oc'nel slurred. "There are almost no Botha'ahir Bothans on Coruscant."

"Oh…" Hashtivar said. "I get it. Yeah, the band is from Botha'ahir. Funny, I never knew Botha'ahir Bothans looked… different."

Oc'nel frustratedly stepped next to Sey'les for contrast. Sey'les giggled drunkenly.

The crowd started murmuring excitedly after the music stopped.

"I am gonna get an icy drink really quick," Oc'nel slurred. "Before… before all the crowd gets here."

"I'll come with you," Fojo said. "It was nice seeing you all again."

"Bye," Hashtivar said.

"Nice to see you too," Sey'les slurred.

"See ya," Wulf said.

* * *

"It is really sad what happened to Team Muun," Oc'nel sighed. From his plastic spoon, he took another bite of _Shakolatzhimo_ , a Bothan chocolate ice cream made from Bith bean milk.

"Yeah," Fojo agreed, turning on the headlights to the TW-2. "It is really nice that you labelled all of these controls for me Oc'nel! I can't read any of these funky Bothese things."

Oc'nel scowled, but then it hurt to scowl. He sat back in his seat and looked down at his half-empty cup of _Shakolatzhimo_. "How long do I have to wait to take another pill?"

"What does it say?" Fojo asked, taking off from the parking lot.

"Four to six hours," Oc'nel slurred.

"So, wait for four hours," Fojo said. He looked at the chronometer and sighed. "Kriff, it is late."

"We're going to be stuck in traffic at least another hour. You can stay at my place for the night," Oc'nel slurred. "We have a couch."

"We?" Fojo asked. The speeder was now merging back into the traffic jam.

Oc'nel gulped. "Um… the royal we. We are very grateful for the assistance in our time of need," he took another bite of _shakolatzhimo_.

Fojo chuckled.

_That was close_ , Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously.

"What is that?" Fojo asked, pointing ahead into the traffic. The air traffic was being forced through a tunnel in a floating square with police lights.

"I dunno," Oc'nel slurred.

As the traffic floated nearer to the tunnel, Oc'nel could make out several Coruscant police droids. Speeders drivers were rolling down their windows or leaning out of their convertibles and facing these handheld devices the droids were sticking in their faces. One speeder was landed on the shoulder of the tunnel. The Ithorian driver stood nearby in handcuffs.

"Must be an alcohol checkpoint," Fojo said in a puzzled voice. "Lucky I didn't drink. I bet they wouldn't set these up on a holiday when humans got really drunk," he added said cynically.

"Yeah, but it's good they are doing this at all," Oc'nel replied. "One of the few Coruscant speeder laws I agree with."

As the TW-2 floated slowly into the checkpoint, Fojo rolled down his window.

The police droid held a plastic device out, connected to a datapad. "Blow onto the straw please," he said in a monotone robotic voice.

Fojo put his tiny Rodian snout around the straw and blew. The light on top of the datapad stayed green. "You have no alcohol in your blood," the droid said confidently, "but I am detecting some in the air. Please pull over here."

Fojo pulled over to the shoulder chuckling.

"Kriffing Sey'les," Oc'nel snarled.

"Please step out of the vehicle, do you have any weapons inside?"

"Yeah," Oc'nel slurred. "It is under the driver's seat. I am a Judicial, here is my ID and badge. The vehicle is registered to me and Fojo is just driving."

"Take the weapon out, slowly."

Oc'nel walked around to the driver's side and removed the CDEF pistol, handing it to one of the police droids. Another police droid approached Oc'nel and began scanning him.

A harsh ultraviolet light which would look closest to a white purple to the Bothan but invisible to a human, shone into his face. Oc'nel winced.

"Hold still please," the droid said. "You have alcohol all over your fur. Coruscant has a ban on open containers in the vehicle even for passengers."

"We have no open containers of alcohol," Fojo said sternly. "Oc'nel got covered in alcohol in that dome," he pointed out through the tunnel to the Botha'ahir-looking dome.

"Very well, it all checks out. Thank you for your cooperation," a droid said handing Oc'nel his blaster.

The two promptly stepped back into the speeder. Oc'nel handed his blaster to Fojo and asked him to put it back under the seat.

Fojo gave a huge sigh of relief once they got out of the tunnel.

* * *

_Maybe bringing friends here is not such a good idea… at least not till I move the Jedi—_

"—Oc'nel, that's nonsense," said Fojo angrily. "I am not stupid."

"All right, this is my partner's place, and she's letting me live here with her, and she said it is okay if I bring friends," he slurred.

"Well, who is your 'partner,'" Fojo asked suspiciously.

"Um…" Oc'nel gulped.

"Well lookie here, a training lightsaber on the wall, a Jedi meditation pad in the middle of these stones near the window, the oven is clearly designed for someone who can't see, a Shadowsync terminal, again for someone who can't see… The only thing here is your droid. I am going to give you one more chance to be honest, Bothan," Fojo said sternly.

"Fine. You're right," Oc'nel winced. "My partner is kind of… a Jedi."

"Kind of Jazal you mean," Fojo chuckled.

"Kind of."

"Damn." Fojo looked around marvelling at how nice the apartment was. "After working with Averross, absolutely nothing about the Jedi could surprise me anymore," he chuckled to himself.

Oc'nel gulped.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Fojo said, putting his hand on Oc'nel's shoulder. "I know you'd do the same for me."

"Yeah I would," Oc'nel smiled.

"Don't get too mixed up in this though…" Fojo waved his hand around. "I have no idea how Jazal could have gotten the money. And seriously, if you bring friends over, hide the Jedi shassa and don't insult our intelligence."

He thought of telling Fojo that Jazal got her money for the apartment by selling a book rather than corruption or racketeering of some sort. Oc'nel stopped himself when he realised that even he did not fully believe Jazal's story. It just sounded way too convenient. On the other hand, he did not care too much. _Lots of beings do criminal things for extra money, hell, Pax does. Why should Jedi need to be an exception?_

"The shower's upstairs," Oc'nel slurred. "I bought some cereal and we have Bith bean milk for breakfast. I'll find you some blankets."

"I don't know how you can drink that crap," Fojo sighed.

Oc'nel walked up the stairs and found extra blankets and a spare pillow in the closet. He handed it all to Fojo.

"Thanks," Fojo said and then began setting up his sheets.

"Goodnight," Oc'nel slurred. He walked up the stairs and collapsed on Jazal's bed, not even bothering to change into his pyjamas.


	37. Zuro Pax

Coruscant

It was still dark outside. Pax looked from his bed across his empty room to his Wookiee-installed secure HoloNet terminal. He had spent the last day packing all of his belongings and putting them in a trailer connected to the back of his teal, Naboo-built, luxury Flash Air Speeder. His Federal District penthouse apartment was now nearly empty.

Pax had avoided all contact with his family since returning to Coruscant. He figured that if he got caught, they could be suspected of crimes just for talking to him.

He got out of bed and approached the terminal, answering the call.

"Good morning," a Koorivar said with a cheeky grin, looking at how tired Pax looked.

"It's 0438," Pax sighed.

"We know. You are to commence Operation Murkhana Gate immediately," the Koorviar said.

"Took you long enough."

"You've only been on Coruscant for two days," the Koorivar retorted incredulously.

"Yeah, but remaining here while working for you… I never agreed to be a double agent. I just want to deescalate the conflict and make it impossible for the Republic to wage war."

"And you won't need to be," the Koorivar replied, "and I am sure that you all will."

"Us all? I thought it was just Carver, Driffu and I?" Pax asked curiously.

"You will see when you arrive—need to know at this point. Your target is the _Paladin._ "

"All right," Pax yawned.

After the Koorivar hung up, Pax started dialling Carver.

"Why the kriff are you calling at 0441 in the morning—"

"—Operation Murkhana Gate is a go," Pax interrupted, yawning himself once again. "Per the timeline, we have one hour for core members only, then another hour for stragglers to join up."

"Oh," Carver yawned. "This early?"

"Yep, get your uniform on and meet me in…." Pax searched for the _Paladin_ on his datapad, "hanger 32. I'm landing my speeder inside and recommend you do the same."

"Do you think there'll be room—"

"—there should be room for at least three or four speeders on the Paladin," Pax said.

* * *

Oc'nel

"WAKE UP!" Fojo yelled, shoving Oc'nel in a panic.

"What is it?" Oc'nel yawned then groaned in pain. His gums felt like they were on fire.

"I think Carver is planning to do something really stupid," Fojo said urgently.

"No surprise there," Oc'nel said, staring up into Fojo's sparkling teal eyes.

"He is going to try to commit treason," Fojo whispered.

Oc'nel gasped. "WHAT?!"

Fojo showed him the datapad.

" **Fojo, I know you've got your head on straight. You are tired of being used by the Republic just like me and want better. I can offer it to you. If you want to leave this kriffing rubbish for good and maybe stop a galactic war, meet me in hangar 32.** "

"KRIFF!" Oc'nel gasped. "That's where they store the Consular-class corvettes!" He rolled over in his bed to the nightstand, popped a painkiller into his mouth, then took a sip of water.

"We have to stop him," Fojo said urgently.

"Yeah…" Oc'nel sighed. He staggered across the room to the walk-in closet and unplugged his Bothan Boola Carbine, charging in the wall.

"What's that for?!" Fojo gasped.

"In case Carver doesn't agree to stop this peacefully," Oc'nel snarled. "Whatever it is, this is really serious shtak he is starting."

Fojo sighed sadly. "I just never thought we would have to shoot our own team."

"We don't have to," Oc'nel yawned optimistically. "We only have to if they don't back down. My hope is for us to talk Carver out of this, that way he doesn't even go to jail." He flipped the switch on his carbine from safe to burst, just to make sure it worked. _Good_. Oc'nel began getting dressed in his Judicial uniform in the closet.

* * *

Sey'les

"Ugh," Sey'les snarled upon waking up. "KRIFF," she sighed. Her right arm was so numb from sleeping on it that she could not move it. She rolled onto her back, picked up her right arm with her left and dropped it on her chest. It felt cold. The side of her snout was tingling and numb too. _How could this—kriff!_ Sey'les remembered that she was not supposed to drink alcohol when she was on her new meds. _I gotta stop that!_

She looked up at the ceiling, blinking. Tingly fiery pains flooded her arm as it slowly came back to life. _What a wild night_ , she thought, now smiling to herself, alone on her bed with a wild, toothy, feral grin.

The chronometer said 0601. She had woken up nineteen minutes early but felt very well rested. She pulled out her datapad working it with one arm while sensation still returned to the other.

A notification was of photo Wulf must have sent her. Sey'les completely forgot about ever having asked Wulf for it. A passer-by had taken a photo of the three of them.

In the photo, Hashtivar, Wulf, and Sey'les were standing amongst Coruscant's mangiest, wildest, drunkest Bothans, the trio yelling wildly with purple spotlights shining down in the background. Wulf and Sey'les both had toothy smiles while Hashtivar's revealed just his empty, open, Chelidae, beak-like snout, quite happy in his wheelchair. Sey'les was spraying her second can of beer into the sky.

_All right, gotta eat shower and eat breakfast now… take advantage of my extra twenty minutes,_ she thought.

Racking her brain, she tried to remember if Captain Krennic had asked her to take anything new to work. She couldn't remember. _I hope Wulf isn't hung over_ , she suddenly paused with worry.

_I will be so early, I can skip breakfast here and have time to eat breakfast at the Arcology Cafeteria,_ Sey'les realised happily. _I can take a shower after lunch anyways._

* * *

Pax

"What the kriff is that?" Pax asked Carver as he landed in the busy hanger.

Carver had stepped out of his old speeder holding a giant rifle. The handle was solid black, but the barrel was unusual—it seemed to be built of a series of stacked silver and grey discs, one on top of the other. The stacks formed two distinct cylinders with a fatter base cylinder and a thinner cylinder towards the tip of the barrel.

"It's a GLC," Carver said proudly holding it out for Pax to see. "Guardian Lightning Cannon. This baby can be adjusted to shoot lighting as lethal, as non-lethal, or as painful as I want it to," he said with a wicked grin, flipping his long black hair back.

"All right," Pax said uneasily. "Just don't be too trigger happy. We are all friends here," he said pointing around the room to the dozens of busy Judicials, all in blue uniforms. Behind Pax sat the _Paladin_ , a 115-meter long Consular cruiser. Driffu was playing with the rotating laser canon at the top, spinning it around in circles.

"Hey Driffu, knock that out and open the bay doors," Pax ordered into his comm.

"All right," Driffu sighed.

Two large lifts descended from the _Paladin_ to the hangar floor. "All right, let's get our speeders up in this beast!" Pax said excitedly.

Carver stepped back into his speeder and carefully drove it up to the lift then stepped out, cockily holding his Guardian Lightning Cannon at the high-ready, strutting about the hangar like he owned the place.

Nearby, a few Judicials on another team stood next to the _Pathfinder,_ another Consular cruiser. All five of the Consular cruisers in the hangar had groups of Judicials working for the Corporate Alliance under and inside them. Pax was amazed and quite proud at the scale of the operation.

_Soon, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine won't be able to do anything to the poor Outer Rim planets that want to secede_ , Pax thought. _If they want half of the Galaxy to re-join them, they have to do it with the consent of those planets, not using force._

"I still can't believe it," Carver said with a beaming grin. "Soon, I am gonna be a millionaire!"

Pax sighed. He had lost all of his respect for Carver back on Alpheridies.

"That's not why I am doing it Carver," Pax sighed.

"Yeah, well the million Separatist credits will still be a nice bonus huh? You get to save the Galaxy and be a millionaire."

"Be careful where you point that thing," Pax said sternly. "The Separatist want that ship in one piece. You only told Fojo right?"

"Yeah, I know we can't trust Oc'nel at all." Carver lowered his lightning cannon and aimed it at the floor.

* * *

Oc'nel

"Why are you flying outside of the speeder lanes?!" asked Fojo in an alarmed voice.

"We have to get to the Judicial Arcology as quickly as possible," Oc'nel snarled. He looked down from the dark, early morning cityscape out of the front window, steered with one hand, looked down under the seat—

Fojo gasped. "Oc'nel keep your eyes—"

"—here," Oc'nel snarled, handing his CDEF blaster to Fojo. "Take it."

Fojo took it and looked at the power levels.

"There is a good chance that we are going to have to shoot that stupid kriffing human. My CDEF has a stun setting."

"Good," Fojo sighed. "Why don't Boola carbines?"

"Mine doesn't. Some models do," Oc'nel said, a bit calmer.

"All right, I still think," Fojo said cautiously, "we should stick to the speeder lanes. The police—"

—a police siren emerged behind them.

"DAMN IT!" Oc'nel snarled. "BLASTED STUPID COPS."

"PULL OVER!" a droid's voice yelled after about five seconds.

"What are you doing?" Fojo gasped.

"We have to get there as fast as possible," Oc'nel growled insistently and sped up.

* * *

Sey'les

Upon arriving in the cafeteria, Sey'les saw a face she had not seen in months, the Twi'lek pilot Lanya Pran. She was now wearing a Naval pilot's uniform.

"Mind if I sit here?" Sey'les asked.

"SEY'LES?!" Lanya yelled, "oh Captain Sey'les now I see! Yes, you are welcome to sit here ma'am."

After setting her bowl of Anoat oats and her mug of caf on the table, Sey'les sat down. "What has been going on lately?"

"Not much ma'am. We went on a month-long wild goose chase then had shore-leave on Alpheridies."

"Alpheridies?" Sey'les asked curiously.

"Pitch black boring world with eyeless Miralukas. All of them look so creepy," Lanya shuddered. "I guess not too creepy if they wear their eye covers."

"Wow. That sounds like a disaster," Sey'les replied dramatically.

"We also lost some people and had some injuries… doing things I can't talk about," Lanya sighed sadly. "Nothing as bad as what your team went through though. Sey'les, my condolences for your team."

"Thanks," Sey'les croaked sadly.

"Huh?!" Lanya exclaimed, the expression of sadness vanishing from her face, replaced by pure fear and shock. "The Navy is asking all pilots to report our positions. I am doing it… now," Lanya pressed a button pinging her location.

"That's weird," Sey'les growled. She took a bite of Anoat oats.

"KRIFF!" Lanya gasped.

"What is it?!" Sey'les asked in alarm.

"Someone is stealing my ship!" Lanya yelled, her face twisted in rage.

Sey'les pulled out her comm and called Tarkin.

"Captain, I am entering the Arcology now, what is it?" he asked after just one ring.

"Governor, we have an emergency situation. Someone is stealing ships."

"Oh Sey'les," Tarkin sighed, "I am already aware of this."

Scowling, Sey'les imagined Tarkin's arrogant smirk. "Governor, we really need to—"

"—It is being contained as we speak. They cannot fly without the codes to the Consular tethers. I can tell by your voice, Bothan, that you are quite excited," Tarkin huffed impatiently. "If you need to help our forces blast the traitors, I give you permission to grab a blaster from the armoury, gear up, and meet the security forces gathering on level 32."

"All right, thank you Governor," Sey'les said.

Tarkin hung up.

"I am coming," Lanya said sternly.

"All right."

* * *

Oc'nel

There were now twenty Panther Police Interceptors chasing the TW-2 between the traffic lanes.

"HEY, I RECOGNISE THAT TW!" an angry Corellian accent yelled from the nearest Panther Police Interceptor. "AGENT OC'NEL, YOU MANGY, NEUROTIC, BOTHAN! SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER ONTO THE NEAREST BUILDING OR I WILL BLAST YOU OUT OF THE SKY!"

Oc'nel winced.

"He knows you?!" Fojo gasped.

"Yeah, it's an asshole named Divo," Oc'nel sighed. "Call triple one."

Fojo pulled out his datapad and called 111 and set it to speaker. "Triple one, what is the nature of your emergency?"

"I am Agent Itoll Oc'nel, identification code 000923 X-Ray, currently being chased by lots of police interceptors," his fur swirled with embarrassment. "Can you please connect me with Tanivos Divo?"

"Identifier confirmed, connecting you with Tanivos Divo."

"You stupid mangy Bothan," Divo sighed. "You have wasted my entire morning! I had to go into work on a day off just because you don't know how to fly in the kriffing lanes! Pull the kriff over or I will shoot you down!"

Divo fired a warning shot a meter to the left of Oc'nel's TW-2.

"I am sorry Divo," Oc'nel growled nervously, "but I am responding to an emergency."

"What could possibly warrant you violating Coruscant Sky Laws?"

"Several Judicials are in the process of committing an act of treason."

"You have proof of this?!" Divo demanded.

"Yeah," Fojo said.

"Who are you?"

"Agent Fojo, identifier 001177 X-Ray. In my defence, I begged Oc'nel to fly in the speeder lanes."

The comm became staticky for a moment as Divo sighed. "All right, I will tell my superiors. We will provide you an escort unless they tell me otherwise. Where is it you are going?"

"Hangar 32. It's on the south side of the Judicial Arcology," Fojo replied.

"In that case, ascend to the Emergency Services Lane and stay in front of me," Divo ordered, raising his speeder up a few hundred meters.

Oc'nel ascended cautiously and positioned his speeder in front of Divo. The nineteen other police interceptors soon followed.

"So much for not getting Carver arrested," he sighed.

"He kriffing deserves this and you know it," Oc'nel snarled. "Hopefully he'll be smart enough to surrender. That Divo is a trigger-happy asshole."

"Yeah," Fojo agreed.

"Bothan, I can hear you," Divo muttered from the comm. "And we need to keep an open comm."

"I agree," Oc'nel replied awkwardly.

The sun began to rise as the convoy of police cruisers and the tiny TW-2 crossed into the Federal District. The sunrise itself was obscured by the cityscape, but the sky was progressively becoming brighter and brighter.

* * *

Pax

"Those idiots! Just like the Corporate Alliance predicted with high confidence," Danlos, a human Judicial technician told Pax shaking his head. "They are using the tethering locks. You locked down every door into the hangar right sir?"

"Yep, it should take them at least fifteen minutes to cut through unless they do something completely crazy, like crawl through the vents," Pax answered.

"Excellent. I am unlocking the tethers now," Danlos said, entering in his code. The metal tethers connected to all five Consular-class cruisers disconnected and fell to the hangar floor. "All right, see you on the other side!" he yelled excitedly, running back towards the Consular class his team was hijacking.

"See you there!" Pax yelled. "All right Carver—"

"I just wanna wait for Fojo," Carver said with a frown.

"I don't think Fojo is—do you hear that?" Pax asked spinning around to face the outside, the direction of police sirens. As a cluster of speeders crossed through a gap in the shadow cast by the cityscape, they were briefly illuminated by the sun. Dozens of Coruscant police interceptors and, at the lead, a Botha'ahir TW-2 speeder.

"OC'NEL!" Pax yelled. "HE IS LEADING THEM RIGHT HERE!"

"Police droids don't stand a chance against this baby," Carver said tapping his lightning cannon with his hand, completely unable to hide his enthusiasm.

Pax pulled out his comm, "everyone, we have an unexpected development! A member of my team has led the Coruscant police right here and they will arrive imminently. I suggest if you are able—"

—the Consular-cruiser next to the _Paladin_ abruptly lifted off the hangar floor. White smoke filled the air accompanied by 150 kilometre per hour winds.

Pax and Carver screamed in terror, holding onto the _Paladin's_ landing gear as the wind nearly blew them away. "SON OF A BITCH!" Pax yelled.

The Consular-cruiser exited the hangar and sped up until it created a sonic boom.

"I still need a few minutes to prep the ship!" Driffu yelled from her echoey gas mask into Pax's comm.

"All right, I am coming aboard," Pax replied then switched back to the general channel. "Teams who are not ready, we may need to hold off the Coruscant police for a few minutes. I suggest having a gunner ready and—"

"—Pax, it's just that little bitchy Bothan, a few police, droids and maybe a cop. I am pretty sure I can handle this," Carver said confidently.

* * *

Oc'nel

"Consular-class cruisers. They are stealing Consular-class cruisers! It's not just Carver!" Fojo yelled putting his hands to his head in panic. "KRIFF! WATCH OUT!"

They saw the Consular-class cruiser coming in their direction before they could hear it. Oc'nel steered wildly to avoid a frontal collision. Fojo screamed in terror.

A deafening sonic boom rattled their ship. Oc'nel's fur fell flat, pressing into his body in fear. He struggled to grip the steering wheel as it vibrated. When it was over, Divo's terrified Corellian drawl came through the comm.

"Oc'nel! Are you guys all right?!"

"Yeah," Oc'nel breathed into the comm, still gasping in a panic.

"Shassa. You guys were right when you said this was serious! They are stealing Consular-class cruisers!" Divo yelled in a panic, completely losing his normal cop-narrator calm.

"It's a bit more serious than we thought," Oc'nel growled cautiously into the comm. "We need to get in there before they steal any—"

—another Consular-class exited the hanger. Oc'nel turned to avoid another collision.

"OPEN FIRE!" Divo screamed.

"Uh Divo, those things are—"

Before Oc'nel could say _armed_ , Divo's police interceptors began firing on it. A few of their shots bypassed the shields and impacted onto its hull. The Consular-class returned fire, blasting one police interceptor after another out of the sky before flying through the opening it created.

"SNARR!" Divo wailed.

"Kriff," Oc'nel sighed.

"—THOSE SON'S OF BITCHES! THEY'RE DEAD!" Divo screamed, making a beeline for the hangar, his powerful police interceptor engine overtaking Oc'nel's TW-2 easily.

"Dammit Divo," Oc'nel snarled, following Divo in. "We need a plan!"

"Plan Bothan? Here's the plan. Cover my six and don't get killed," he said, once again reverting to confident Corellian narrator cop voice.

Oc'nel winced nervously as he saw Divo land a police interceptor right on the pad of the nearest Consular-class's front landing gear.

Oc'nel landed his TW-2 in near the opening of the hanger behind a series of crates. _There is no way I am exposing my speeder to blaster fire_ , he thought. Oc'nel turned to Fojo. "You ready?"

Blasterfire shots were flying overhead above the crates, hitting the dividers between the hanger openings. Oc'nel stepped out, opened his rear door, and grabbed his Boola Carbine.

Fojo looked extremely tense. "Kriff," he muttered, stepping out and drawing Oc'nel's CDEF pistol.

An unfamiliar human voice yelled from the intercom of the nearest cruiser. "GET YOUR SPEEDER OFF MY LANDING GEAR, COP!"

A human Judicial and a Gotal Judicial took cover behind the other two landing gears, firing at Divo and the five Coruscant police droids that had emerged from his interceptor.

Oc'nel began running towards Divo's position to help.

On the far-left side of the hangar, another Consular-class cruiser lifted off unopposed and flew away. Now there were only two Consular-class ships left. Oc'nel winced as stray blaster fire flew over his head.

The Consular-class nearest to them suddenly made a sick metal straining noise. Its repulsorlift was on, but unable to lift off with Divo's cruiser sitting on the front landing gear.

The two Judicials sitting behind the rear landing gears screamed in terror, afraid of being left behind and ducked out of cover running towards the entry ramp. Divo and his droids gunned them both down as they ran around the rear landing gears. Their bodies sat on the floor smoking. Whoever was in charge of the Consular-class retracted the ramp into the ship once the two Judicials outside were down, blocking anyone else from getting inside.

"I'm on your six," Oc'nel said as he and Fojo approached Divo's position behind the cruiser. Oc'nel stood next to Divo, cautiously looking over the hood at the bodies and the rest of the Consular-class. The landing gear was grinding and straining, Divo's police cruiser was being lifted just a centimetre or two.

"We have another Consular-class to worry about too," Fojo said, angling his head to the right side of the hangar where the sole remaining Consular-class sat in the distance.

"I can't believe this is actually working Divo!" Oc'nel yelled. "Any plans for getting inside?"

"I think—" Divo gasped in shock.

A hot gust blasted Divo, Fojo, Oc'nel and the police droids. The Consular-class's lower thrusters were firing, blasting thick white smoke over the hangar.

"FALL BACK!" Oc'nel snarled.

It was unnecessary. A gust of wind blew them all backward. Oc'nel, Fojo, Divo, and the five droids were rolling across the hangar floor, being blown out from under the Consular-class.

All seven of them were blown into the stack of crates positioned in front of Oc'nel's TW-2.

"AAAHHHHH!" Fojo screamed in a panic.

Oc'nel sat up, his back against the crates, his lips being blown by the wind. He closed his organic eye, which hurt far too much from the wind, and stared ahead with his new left eye.

The Consular-class was now a meter off the ground, suspending Divo's police cruiser in mid-air from its landing gear. The Judicial traitors, piloting the Consular-class, tried retracting the landing gear. It rolled up into the belly of the ship, then sparked, caught fire, and a flame surged from the port the landing gear was trying to retract into.

One of the lower-front thrusters exploded in a deafening boom and the Consular-class fell to the hangar floor. It looked relatively intact, but the boosters continued firing creating an intense wave of heat all around.

"GET BEHIND THE CRATES!" Oc'nel yelled.

The group, including the droids, ran behind the crates. They were now between the stack of crates and Oc'nel's speeder.

One thruster exploded with a deafening boom, then another, then another. Six separate explosions shook the entire hangar. A loud thudding crashing noise echoed from the walls, no doubt the Consular-class crashing to the floor.

Peering around the crate curiously, Oc'nel could see a huge fire engulfing the outside of the Consular-class. Emergency sprinklers activated on the distant roof raining down onto the ship.

"Let's do something about the last ship!" Divo yelled.

The droids began following him.

Oc'nel caught his breath, stood up, and followed. Soon after, so did Fojo.

Oc'nel felt furious. Several of his colleagues had stolen three Consular-class cruisers for reasons he did not understand. Carver was one of them. He was not sure, however, how Fojo was feeling. "Maybe Carver was on the first ship," Oc'nel growled cautiously, waiting to gauge the Rodian's reaction.

"I hope not," Fojo said coldly. "I want to bring that kriffing scumbag in."

"Me too," Oc'nel snarled more confidently, carrying his Boola Carbine at the low ready. _There was no excuse for this._

There was a set of crates to the side of the final Consular-Class cruiser. An almost torrent-sounding electric noise came from between two of the crates. A terrifying sphere of electricity hit Divo. He screamed in pain, dropping his blaster, and fell to the floor smoking.

"Get to—AAAHHHHH!" Oc'nel screamed, collapsing to the floor. An intense spasm writhed through his body as he screamed and gasped for breath. Afterwards, everything felt tingly.

One of the droids was hit by the next sphere and it was instantly fried, the electricity arcing from one droid to the next. All five Coruscant police droids were down. Then Fojo began screaming.

"KRIFF!" Oc'nel gasped.

"You sons of bitches," a Carver's voice yelled out. "I can't believe you would betray me Fojo!" he screamed.

Carver walked towards the fallen group of droids, Oc'nel, Fojo, and Divo. As he approached, he squeezed the trigger again, blasting a sphere into Fojo who screamed on the ground. Fojo was writhing in pain and smoking.

"Speak of," Oc'nel gasped… "speaking of betrayal—AAAHHHH!" he yelped again, writhing in familiar pain.

Carver shot Divo again without stating a reason, and chuckled.

"CARVER! LEAVE THEM ALONE! GET BACK HERE!" Pax's voice yelled angrily from Carver's comm on his belt. "WE HAVE TO GO!"

The Consular-class turned on its repulsorlift and began hovering a few meters in the air, leaving the entry ramp down.

"Bothan, I have wanted to do this to you for so long," Carver said coldly and squeezed another shot into Oc'nel on a higher setting.

Oc'nel screamed in pain once more. This time he could smell burning fur. "Shtak!" he gasped. "Please—"

—Carver tugged Oc'nel to his knees by his head hair and put the lightning canon right against his face, shoving it into his snout. "I wonder what this will do at a non-lethal setting at point-blank range, don't you?"

"No," Oc'nel murmured with watery eyes, the hot barrel burning his snout. "Please Carver, don't. I wouldn't have killed you."

"That's a kriffload of nonsense. Your carbine only has a kill setting. At least Fojo's pistol was set to stun," he said, kicking the CDEF away. "You were ready to kill me Oc'nel. Now you are scared and—"

"—CARVER, YOU KRIFFING PSYCHOPATH! IF YOU DARE KILL OC'NEL OR FOJO, I AM LEAVING YOU THE KRIFF BEHIND AND SPLITTING YOUR SHARE WITH DRIFFU."

"Pax, relax," Carver said calmly into his comm. "I am just messing with them," he sighed. He pulled Oc'nel's fur harder, bringing his face closer to his. "Nice implant by the way," he tapped his barrel gingerly into the side of Oc'nel's head, right next to his ocular implant.

Oc'nel's eyes watered and he gulped nervously, wincing.

"All right Pax, I'm commin' in and don't do anything with my share." Carver turned around and began walking back to the Consular-class. He paused as suddenly, one of the many doors into the hangar was pried open slightly, but just wide enough for—

"—Pax, we have company—"

—the first blaster shot connected with Carvers head. The corner of his head disappeared in a hot fiery explosion. His body collapsed to the ground.

"CARVER!" Pax's voice yelled in a panic through Carver's comm.

Oc'nel looked in the direction the shot had come from and saw Sey'les, wearing a green Naval uniform and helmet, still pointing her blaster in Carver's direction with a scowl on her face. The group of Navy personnel and security forces at the door to the hangar began opening fire on the hovering Consular-class.

It hovered momentarily, then flew away gracefully out of the hangar opening, not even kicking on its thrusters until it was through. _I guess Pax really does care about Fojo and I still_ , Oc'nel thought.

Sey'les ran over to the trio. "ALL CLEAR! WE NEED A MEDIC!" she yelled.

"We tried to stop them," Oc'nel sighed to her as she approached.

"I know Oc'nel, we could see what was happening on the security cams," Sey'les said reassuringly. "Don't worry about that, just stay awake for me. MEDIC!"

* * *

Pax

"Holy shassa," Pax whispered to himself in shock again.

"You have been saying that over and over again," Driffu said calmly as the ship ascended to low orbit of Coruscant.

"Sey'les just… shot him!" Pax said angrily. "He wasn't even shooting at her! She isn't supposed to aim for the head! Standard procedure is to aim centre mass," he said, balling his fists.

"Well, Carver was an asshole, in Sey'les's defence," Driffu said neutrally.

"You're an asshole too," Pax retorted, tears in his eyes.

Driffu chuckled, her laughs echoing eerily through her gas mask. "It is nearly impossible to prove that someone was intentionally aiming for the head—"

"—you know that Sey'les is one of the most accurate shots there is," Pax interrupted, raising his voice.

"Well you know, as well as I, that it is legal to shoot someone to stop the commission of a felony. We did a felony," Driffu pointed stupidly around cockpit. "No one will ever decide Sey'les should get reprimanded for shooting Carver in the head rather than the chest."

Pax sighed and started entering in the hyperspace coordinates to Murkhana. "It's entered. Take us there," he said wearily.

Driffu pushed on the lever and the Consular-class jumped to hyperspace.

Exhaling, Pax again whispered "holy shassa."

"If you say that one more time Pax, I am going to go all Carver on your ass, like he did to Oc'nel," Driffu chuckled.

"Carver died about five minutes ago and you are already incorporating him into your jokes. Driffu, after I get paid, we are through. I never want to see you again."

"Holy shassa," Driffu whispered mockingly. "In any case, we are now splitting four million two ways. You are going to be richer than Senator Yarua. Pax, lighten up a little."

The eerie blue glow of the hyperspace tunnel reflected off the Gand's dark eyes. Pax sighed, stopped staring at her, and looked out the front window. He sat back in his seat, feeling defeated despite having successfully stolen the Consular-class.


	38. Itoll Oc'nel

Coruscant

Divo, Fojo, and Oc'nel now shared a short-term suite in the Judicial hospital. Oc'nel was in the middle bed. So far, the medical droids had only found first degree burns.

"Your implant is surprisingly fine," the medical droid said reassuringly. "It is shielded by a non-conductive alloy, which, surprisingly to me, worked. I have never examined such craftmanship."

Oc'nel had never heard an arrogant medical droid sound impressed by anything anyone else had ever done.

"Who did your implant?" Divo asked curiously.

"Dr Dojir," Oc'nel said with a smile. He's actually up on the ninety-something-th level here. Fojo, how are you holding up?"

"You heard… first-degree burns," Fojo murmured.

"That's not what I mean," Oc'nel said sternly.

Fojo remained silent.

Oc'nel turned to Divo. "Sorry again about Snarr," he croaked. "He seemed like a really good cop."

"Sorry about Carver," Divo said in his cold, sarcastic, crime scene narrator-voice.

"Don't be," Oc'nel snarled. "He wanted to kill me just because I was a bit unfriendly to him a few times over the years. He wanted to kill Fojo just because Fojo got in the way of some heist."

"Yeah," Divo replied turning to face Oc'nel. "I have never quite seen anything that kriffed up in my thirty years on Coruscant. You Judicials really have something wrong in your ranks and, if you ask me, it is going right into the Navy."

Fojo sighed.

"Rodian," Divo said, "don't grieve for Carver. He is not worth—"

"—I'm not," Fojo snapped, sitting up in bed. "All of this is just a bit difficult to process. Could you two chatterboxes leave me out of it?"

"Sorry," Oc'nel winced guiltily. He turned to the medical droid, "Doc, could you get me my datapad?"

The doctor paused for a moment doing some internal search. "No, I cannot. Your speeder and the datapad are being processed as evidence. I am sure you will get them back in a few days."

"Better than my datapad," Fojo said cynically. "It got totally fried."

"Well, could I borrow a hospital datapad so I can message a friend to tell them I am alive?"

"I am pretty sure your partner knows your alive," Fojo murmured.

"True," Oc'nel sighed, taking a datapad from the droid. "Thank you."

Oc'nel entered Jazal's Shadowsync number and started composing a message:

" **This is Itoll. Went through some shassa, as I imagine you sensed, but I am going to be okay.** "

* * *

Jazal

The hangar of the Judicial Arcology was a smoky mess. Jazal, Master Wilkol Shin-Zo, and Russo-ISC, the Temple's Crime Scene Analysis Droid, were combing over the hangar for evidence. The fire from the crashed Consular-class had only been extinguished twenty minutes prior.

One of the Judicials inside the Consular-class had surrendered to Captain Sey'les's forces, the other had committed suicide.

Now the hangar was empty except for four guards near the doorway, the Temple droid, and the two Jedi Masters.

Using her Miraluka force sight, Jazal could sense where the recently shed organic material was. In this case, as she stood over Carver's body, it was completely unnecessary.

"I sense your anger Jazal," Wilkol Shin-Zo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I empathise, but as you have no doubt—"

"—don't worry, I am controlling it," Jazal sighed. She could not fathom how Pax and Carver could do this; how any of the Judicials could have done this. "I worked with him less than a week ago Wilkol and then he participated in this."

"Well we can't know for sure which side he was on," Willkol said reassuringly.

Jazal knew otherwise. She had sensed Oc'nel's peril for a few moments, heard his voice begging Carver for his life, and was about to inform the lab that she would need to step out when, unexpectedly, she was called to the scene.

Her Shadowsync vibrated. Rubbing her hand on the screen, it was from an unfamiliar number. She opened the message surreptitiously and felt the letters. " **This is Itoll. I am alive. Went through some shassa, as I imagine you sensed, but I am going to be okay.** "

Jazal thought of messaging him, warning him against using a public datapad but thought better. She started typing " **I am sorry about what happened. Stay safe**." Deciding that was enough, she hit send.

"In this case, Masters," Russo said as he approached, legs banging loudly on the ground, "it turns out we have a full video record of what happened."

"Naturally we do, droid. This happened in the Judicial Arcology," Wilkol said in a testy voice.

"Receiving the footage now," Russo said, moving his arm to adjust a visor and drop it over his eyes. Whirring noises and metal clicks could be heard from his head. Five seconds later, Russo had a simple answer. "It seems three of the Judicials in your taskforce, Jazal, were involved in the heist: Zuro Pax, Jom Carver, and Driffu. Two tried to stop them."

"Pax…" Jazal muttered softly.

* * *

Oc'nel

"Hey doc!" Divo yelled. "Why haven't we been released yet? First degree burns are hardly a cause to hold us here."

"I am not authorised to release you yet," the medical droid replied simply.

"They are going to want to ask us lots of questions Divo," Oc'nel sighed. "This is probably the worst act of treason on Coruscant in hundreds of years."

"Yeah well doc, I've been invited to do a press briefing," Divo said frustratedly holding his datapad.

"I am sure you will all be debriefed soon," the medical droid reassured.

Fojo grabbed a remote and turned on the HoloNews. It was a live video of Judicial Arcology's exterior. Smoke could be seen billowing out of the hangar. All of the sky lanes near the Arcology had been shut down. Dozens of floating police interceptors could be seen floating in the sky, forming a perimeter.

"As you can see, no updates from the Judicial Arcology," a male voice said. Oc'nel remembered that anchor's name was Lahnsam.

Fojo chuckled cynically. "I've never been a part of the news before."

"Yeah you have," Oc'nel said with a toothy grin.

"When?" asked Fojo in an alarmed voice.

"About a week ago. That asshole Master Nerf Herder? Ring a bell?"

"Oh yeah," Fojo gasped. "That bar fight made the news?"

"Yep."

"Jedi? Bar fight?" Divo asked curiously. "You guys have got to tell—"

—the door to their hospital suite opened. A female human Naval officer walked in. "Good afternoon Agents, good afternoon Detective Divo, I am Lieutenant Commander Moss," she said in a posh Coruscant accent. "Where do we begin?"

Divo, Oc'nel, and Fojo all crawled to the front of their hospital beds, and sat closer to Moss, facing her.

Oc'nel sighed. "Well ma'am, I guess my apartment. Last night I had my surgery. Fojo slept over after he drove me home."

"Slept over?" she asked curiously.

"It's not like that!" Fojo replied, raising his voice.

"I never said it was," Moss said, raising an eyebrow. "How does it begin in your apartment?"

"While I was sleeping, on the couch," Fojo said emphasising _on the couch_ , "I received a message from Jom Carver. He said I 'have my head on straight' and—"

"What do you think he meant by that?" Moss asked sharply. "We have read your electronic communications, all of them."

Oc'nel's fur swirled nervously. He turned the volume off on the Holoterminal.

"Did you give any reason for Carver to think you would betray the Republic?" she asked Fojo sharply.

"No ma'am," Fojo said simply. "But well, he was my friend for years and—"

"—Agent, my records show you were reprimanded last year not reporting Carver when he stole narcotics from your first aid kit. Might that be what Carver meant?"

_I never heard about that._ Oc'nel scowled and looked angrily in Fojo's direction.

Divo chuckled then stopped himself.

"Well, ma'am, that may be why Carver he thought so," Fojo stammered. "My record might not be perfect. Failing to report my teammate for that and treason are two different things. I would never commit—"

"—why didn't you report Carver this morning?" she asked.

"We did," Oc'nel smiled confidently.

"You did?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I had Fojo call triple one. It will definitely on your records," Oc'nel added.

"Yes, you did call triple one," Moss said with a scowl. "Triple. One. You called the Coruscant police instead of us."

Oc'nel's toothy smile fell flat. He gulped nervously.

"Detective Divo?" Moss said, turning to the cop.

"Yes?" Divo said nervously.

"You may go. I believe you have a _press briefing_ to do," she said, trilling the r in press.

Oc'nel winced. _Kriff._

Divo gingerly hopped off his bed, went through the door, and shut it behind him.

"Ma'am," Oc'nel said, his fur swirling nervously. "I didn't think this would devolve into a Jurisdictional issue. If I had known—"

"—you didn't think. You. Didn't. Think," she snapped.

"Respectfully," Fojo huffed angrily, "if it weren't for the Coruscant police, all of them would have gotten away. The Navy took forever cutting through the hangar door."

"Fojo, you are not helping," Oc'nel growled cautiously turning to him. His fur fell flat in fear. He turned back to Moss. "Ma'am I think—"

"—turn to the HoloNews Fojo," Moss snapped lividly. "I want you to see the scale of what has happened."

Fojo turned the volume back on.

"We are continuing our coverage of what has happened on Taris," Lahnsam's voice came while the camera was on an image of an empty landing field amidst smashed mossy buildings. "Turning you guys over to Udol Harvey," he said.

The image of a three-eyed tan male Gran appeared on the screen. "Yes, quite an eventful day on Taris. The entire Judicial fleet at the Taris field office was stolen this morning including two Consular-class cruisers and all of their hyperspace-capable transports. For all intents and purposes, the Republic Judicials here are stranded—"

"—why don't you give those Judicials a lift Udol Harvey?" Oc'nel snarled angrily over the TV coverage.

"As you can see," Moss said, "this is a catastrophe."

"Sorry Udol," Lahnsam said cutting over him. "We are going back to the main studio; we will get back to you in a bit though I promise. Breaking news!" The camera changed to the CoreNews studio where Lahnsam's sat alone at a desk. He was a plump human male with dark brown hair.

"The Corporate Alliance has released, well here, we'll play it for you."

Passel Argente's face appeared on the screen. "Sentients of the Galaxy," he started in a dramatic voice. "Brave individuals have reminded us once again that there are heroes on both sides. Members of the Judicial forces voted with their conscience and broke ranks with the Republic, taking away some of the warmongering Chancellor's arsenal. In the last two hours we have already received two Consular-class cruisers from Taris and numerous smaller vessels. An even larger defection happened on Coruscant. Unfortunately, I have been told we lost four heroes. Jom Carver, Mutro Obar, Ranz Nu, and Max Kaster sacrificed their lives taking away some of the Chancellor's arsenal. Another hero of the Separatists, Dax Campto was captured and is currently being held on Coruscant. We will do everything in our power to ensure his safe release."

Carver's face appeared on the screen, an old ID photo, along with the face of the Gotal Judicial and three human Judicials Oc'nel had never seen before today.

Oc'nel snarled angrily, completely enraged. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"They died making the Galaxy a better place," Argente continued. "All three will be awarded with the Murkhana Medal of Galactic Heroism."

"TURN THAT SHASSA OFF!" Oc'nel snarled.

"Language Agent… Language." Moss held her jaw tightly.

"I get it…" Fojo said in an exasperated voice. "We are shassa. We allowed this to happen because we are—"

"—suspended," Moss interjected coldly, finishing his sentence.

"Suspended?!" Oc'nel gasped. "But we don't even have assignments yet? We haven't even been told—"

"—suspended. As of now, you are both suspended and on unpaid administrative leave," Moss sighed. "I know neither of you are traitors, but you are crooked. If it were up to me, both of you would be facing criminal charges. You did not report Carver to your superiors, regardless as to how this turned out."

"Respectfully, ma'am," Fojo said sternly. "My superior flew away in one of the ships this morning. It would have done no good."

"Hmm," she hummed with a smirk. "Fortunately for you, I am only allowed to suspend you for now. Apparently, somewhere in the Navy, there must be a job for complete and utter imbeciles."


	39. Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

"Stupid kriffing humans kriffing with their stupid kriffing Geonosian babbling bullshab," Sey'les whispered in a curse-laden tongue-twister, balancing a pen on her snout while talking—a thing she started doing with her team five years ago; she called it a 'coordination exercise.'

"Yes ma'am," Wulf agreed in a whisper, balancing a pen on his tiny Ardennian snout. He relaxed in his work chair with his top two hands behind his head. "Stupid kriffing humans. They still don't get that this is nonsense."

The two sat in the backmost station of the SBI Operations Room today, balancing pens on their snouts while all of the engineers, intelligence personnel, and Joran's entire team, were gathered in front of the giant display.

After Sey'les and Oryon had successfully differentiated individual Geonosians, the droids had gone back over the data. Running separate individuals through the translation matrix now yielded thousands of perfectly grammatical, but completely nonsensical, translations. From top to bottom, the large screen now displayed:

**"The East wind meets Corellia over Byss."**

**"Thirteen dreams are now running behind schedule."**

**"Anoat Buzzards circle over naught, please advise."**

**"The lower knees are bent in perpetual gratuity."**

It went on and on. Thousands of grammatical sentences that were pure nonsense, devoid of meaning, flooding down the screen. Suddenly, an error message popped up.

" **Error Code 907: Object_Mismatch_Organic_Verification_Failure; 17,891, 2:**

**Ninety-five vetrans of Alderaan are with Sullust in the morning.**

**Ninety-five veterans of Alderaan are with Sullust in the morning.**

**Mismatch_error. Terminating procedure now."**

"LIEUTENANT WULF!" Krennic yelled angrily.

Wulf gasped. The pen fell from his tiny Ardennian snout bouncing onto his desk. He sat up straight in his chair shaking his head in confusion.

"The word 'veteran' is spelt with two Es!" Krennic waved his arm angrily, pointing at the screen.

"I am sorry sir—"

"—Krennic," Sey'les snarled, cutting off Wulf. "Wulf is under my chain of command. You don't get to reprimand—"

"—both of you were assigned to me Sey'les." Krennic replied sternly, regaining his calm. "I am sorry for my outburst Lieutenant. I am sure you are doing… your best."

Wulf scratched the back of his head, still wincing.

Sey'les sighed.

* * *

Before the events in the hangar, Sey'les had given serious thought to the prospect of recruiting Oc'nel and Fojo onto her team. Now, however, they had kriffed up, big time. She quietly put them both onto the backburner category of potential candidates—ones who can't be recruited at the moment, but if their names get cleared, can be recruited.

In the Operations lunchroom, Oryon sat by himself, most of the others were sitting at Krennic's table. Today, Sey'les and Wulf sat alone. Over the past few days, Sey'les had found it much easier to be around Wulf. She was unsure if it was a side effect of the new medication Ro'val had prescribed her, or if it was just that she was getting used to being around him and, at the same time, having feelings for him.

Sey'les looked across the room. "Wulf?"

"What is it ma'am?" Wulf stammered after he swallowed a bite of sandwich.

"I am going to see if Oryon wants to join our team," Sey'les replied. "I messaged my old instructor at the Bothan Martial Academy. He said I need another Bothan."

"All right. Why are you telling me this?" Wulf asked.

"Because, I am leaving this table and didn't want to worry you Lieutenant," Sey'les scowled. _Maybe it's easier because Wulf is—_

" _—_ Sorry ma'am," Wulf replied.

Sey'les walked from her table to Oryon's. "Mind if I sit here?"

Oryon looked startled. "No, I don't ma'am, but—"

"—good," Sey'les interrupted and sat down next to the Bothan wearing a black and white uniform.

"I am about to finish eating," Oryon said, taking a spoonful of some sort of custard.

"I have seen your physical fitness scores and your shooting qualification scores," Se'yles said bluntly with no effort to hide what she was talking about. "I was wondering if you wanted to join my team. I could ask Tarkin to get you promoted you to Lieutenant."

Oryon roared with laughter.

Sey'les snarled "Ensign!"

Several of the Corps of Engineers and intelligence officers at Krennic's table turned and looked at Sey'les and Oryon. He stopped laughing.

"Sorry ma'am, I just find it funny," Oryon sighed.

"Funny?" Sey'les growled cautiously.

"Yep. Permission to speak freely?"

"Depends on what you are going to say," Sey'les growled.

"All right. I'll…" Oryon paused, trying to think of how to word something. "I find the predicament you have gotten yourself into funny, Captain. Your commander is," Oryon got quieter and leaned over the table, drawing closer to Sey'les to whisper. "Ma'am, your commander is the most evil man in the entire Navy. You're afraid."

"No, I am not," Sey'les lied. Her fur swirled nervously.

"You don't want me on your team because of my abysmal physical fitness scores that would barely qualify me for the Rangers, or because of my mediocre shooting range scores. You just want me because I happen to be Bothan," Oryon said more confidently.

"And?" Sey'les growled, not denying it.

"I do not want to join your team and be a part of your predicament ma'am. I have also had enough of other Bothans for one lifetime."

Sey'les scowled.

"I hope you are not being rude to Captain Sey'les, Ensign," Krennic said, suddenly standing next to their table.

"He wasn't," Sey'les sighed.

"I wasn't sir," Oryon said.

"Good," Krennic remarked cautiously. He turned and faced the larger table, "all right everyone, I am giving you five more minutes to eat. We have quite a lot of work ahead of us."

* * *

Quite a lot of work for everyone except Wulf and Sey'les. _Maybe a lot of work if I knew how to code in the Gibbins_ , Sey'les thought.

The moment Krennic returned from lunch to the Operations Room, he tensed up and looked extremely stressed. Everything about his composure told Sey'les that, for reasons she did not understand, he was under pressure.

"Joran," Krennic said, "do you think your team could modify the program so that rather than exiting whenever it detects a mismatch, it skips the mismatches and puts them into a table we can look over? I don't want it crashing every time it encounters a spelling mistake."

"Yes sir," Joran said professionally, "that will be easy."

"The difficult part will be gleaning any information from… this." Krennic sighed. "Oryon?"

"Yes sir?" the red-furred Bothan growled nervously.

"In your analysis, have you seen anything that would perhaps link this code to what happened today in the hangar?"

Sey'les's ears perked up curiously.

"No sir," Oryon said more nervously.

Krennic sighed frustratedly. "It all looks like complete nonsense! I would have thought that this would clean up the Geonosian code somehow. Oryon, you are a Bothan. Can you think of any cryptographers or—"

—an internal comm message alert flashed on the large view screen. Krennic quickly shifted over to a station and answered it. "Yes Governor?"

"Send Sey'les and Wulf to me."

"But Governor!" Krennic sputtered. "I only have one Bothan and we have so much work!"

"Send them to meeting room 17," Tarkin said.

"Yes Governor," Krennic sighed. Tarkin hung up.

"Sey'les and Wulf. Tarkin wants you. Meeting room 17."

* * *

Standing cautiously outside of meeting room 17, Sey'les could hear Tarkin, an unfamiliar female voice, an unfamiliar male voice, and Byno Doubton.

"Ma'am what do you think is going on?" Wulf whispered urgently.

"We're definitely not in trouble," Sey'les replied with a smile. She opened the door. "Good afternoon Governor, good afternoon Director, good afternoon ma'am? Good afternoon sir?"

"Ah good afternoon Sey'les," Director Doubton replied. "Good afternoon Lieutenant?"

"Wulf sir," Wulf said, standing at attention.

"At ease," Tarkin said to both of them. "Take a seat. This is Lieutenant Commander Moss, Director Doubton, and Director Isard of the SBI."

Sey'les and Wulf took the two empty seats near the door. The room had an ovular table with Tarkin sitting on the far left, nearest to the viewscreen behind him. To the far right, sat his cousin, Byno Doubton, and directly across from Sey'les and Wulf, Lieutenant Commander Moss.

Sniffing the air curiously, today Krennic's scent was not on Tarkin at all. She stored that bit of information in the back of her mind and went into paying attention mode.

On the viewscreen was a familiar Duros face—Pax, one of the traitors who got away.

"We have been discussing the events that occurred this morning. Events you helped mitigate Sey'les."

"Thank you, Governor," Sey'les replied proudly. Her fur danced happily.

Tarkin played a video on the screen using a button in front of him. From an overhead camera view looking down at the hangar, Carver could be seen blasting Oc'nel with lightning, torturing him. Fojo and the Coruscant cop were lying on the ground, smoke billowing up from them.

"KRIFFING HELL!" Wulf gasped. "Sey'les, you didn't—sorry ma'am, sorry sirs," Wulf winced.

Moss glared at Wulf with furrowed eyebrows.

_A little swearing bothers you but Oc'nel getting zapped doesn't?_ Sey'les thought angrily.

The video went to the part where Sey'les shot carver in the head. The corner of his head vanished in poof of fire and smoke.

Sey'les shuddered and looked down for a moment. The room was silent.

"Just to get us all up to speed," Tarkin cut through the silence. "Between approximately 0600 and 0800 hours, nineteen Judicials participated in a heist right in the Judicial Arcology. They stole four Consular-class cruisers, and it was only through the actions of Captain Sey'les, Agents Fojo and Oc'nel, and Detective Divo, that we even stopped the theft of the fifth cruiser. After the thefts on Taris, Lothal, Taulus, and Rori, all told, 10% of the former Judicial fleet was stolen and is now in orbit of Murkhana. And yet, Moss, you want to fire two—"

"—Tarkin, you are being ridiculous," Moss seethed. "Agents Oc'nel and Fojo did not tell us about the traitors and instead brought the Coruscant police into our facility where they have no jurisdictional—"

"—an act of creative use of interagency cooperation, if you ask me," Tarkin said sharply. "As for jurisdictional nonsense, I would hope you, of all people, would agree that the theft of Consular-class cruisers from Federal Premises is an exigent circumstance."

"They are still suspended," Moss said sternly. "If I have my way, they will stay suspended until the Navy or whatever's left of the Judicial forces decides to dishonourably discharge them."

Sey'les and Wulf were beyond confused. They looked at each other. _Why did Tarkin invite us to an argument?!_

"Governor, if I may," Sey'les interjected. "I like Oc'nel and Fojo. I was actually planning on asking Fojo and Oc'nel to join my team after we finish—"

"—good," Tarkin replied with a smirk.

"Good?!" Sey'les gasped. "But they got suspended? I don't understand."

"Exactly," Moss replied. "Finally, someone who agrees—"

Sey'les fought the urge to snarl. _Oc'nel and Fojo are my friends._

Wulf sighed exasperatedly.

"All right Governor," Byno Doubton said. "You have my permission to assess Oc'nel and Fojo for positions on Ranger Team 2."

"You cannot undercut the Personnel Retention like this," Moss said raising her voice. "This is—"

"—a compromise?" Byno Doubton interjected.

Sey'les and Wulf both blinked and looked at each other nervously.

"Compromise?" Moss asked.

"Demote them. Offer them positions as Ensigns," Doubton said slyly.

"Fojo was already getting a position as Ensign," Moss said slowly.

"All right, well still, demote Oc'nel," Doubton replied. "I am sure he deserves it. We need everyone on our side who has personal information on Zuro Pax. The only other Judicial who was on Pax's team is that Wookiee Awerl. Pax is our number one priority."

Moss shuddered at Awerl's name. "All right fine, you can bring them in right now."

"Not right now," Tarkin said, elbows on the table, forming a triangle with his hands. "Agent Oc'nel had surgery yesterday and is in no shape to pass the Ranger Course, especially since he is a Bothan," Tarkin looked at Sey'les to gauge her reaction. She didn't react. He continued, "and I want Oc'nel and Fojo to feel pressure. I want them to feel the grips of despair. I want them to feel completely hopeless for the next few days."

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously.

Wulf scowled.

"Is everything all right Lieutenant," Tarkin asked, staring at Wulf.

"Yes Governor," Wulf stammered.

"Good," Tarkin said curtly. "Captain, Lieutenant, you are dismissed."


	40. Itoll Oc'nel

Coruscant

After dropping Fojo off in CoCo Town, Oc'nel returned to Jazal's apartment and was watching the HoloNews on his datapad. He could use Jazal's giant Shadowsync terminal in front of the couch, but it had no colour and the display was just viscous blobs of shape—no fun to watch.

"We in the Coruscant police take treason very seriously," Divo drawled, the last line of his dramatic speech to the press. His speech voice was every bit as confident as his narrator voice.

Oc'nel laughed once Divo said that the Coruscant police take treason seriously. One of the only things he actually agreed with Lieutenant Commander Moss on is that, what happened in the hangar, was so beyond Divo's pay-grade.

"Is there anything more you can tell us about the casualties?" a male reporter asked in the audience.

"My forces, with the help of two Judicials who reported this act of treason, eliminated four of the Judicials who were stealing the Consular-class. As I said earlier, we lost one Coruscant police detective in the line of duty. A fourth defector was killed by security forces responding to the thefts," Divo paused looking ahead cautiously. "Uh yes!" he pointed to someone in the press.

"How will the Navy respond to this?" a female reporter asked.

"As you know, I cannot speak on behalf of the Republic Navy. If you ask me though, they have some serious problems in their ranks," Divo said confidently.

Oc'nel winced. His gut clenched with nervousness as he imagined what Moss's face must look like right now if she were watching this. _I am in so much kriffing trouble and… ugh I'm hungry._

He got up from the sofa and walked to the balcony. Once again, every speeder lane was packed with traffic, the mostly evening work traffic navigating slowly around hundreds of floating platforms for festivities of All Species Week. It was not quite dark enough for fireworks yet, but those would be coming too soon. _To much traffic to get food anywhere._

Looking to the North, Oc'nel could see the dark outline of the Central District Spaceport through the polluted fog. To the South, no city at all.

Instead, the view was a massive drop off where his apartment ended and below it, nothing but green grass, farms, stone pathways, and primitive brick houses clustered in tiny villages going on for kilometres, all the way to the horizon. There were even a few patches of trees. To the Southwest and Southeast, the walls of skyscrapers penned in the greenery and towards the bases of the skyscrapers, literal walls built atop green hills. The B'ankor Refuge had no speeder traffic in it but also did not look like a good place to get dinner. From space, the B'ankor Refuge looked, no doubt, like a massive rectangular crater of greenery disrupting the Ecumenopolis.

Oc'nel sighed. _If I fly anywhere, I will be stuck for hours. You know what? Kriff it! I am walking._

Feeling in his cargo pant pocket to make sure he had his key, he walked to the turbolift and checked his datapad one more time for messages from Jazal. He was disappointed that she had only messaged him once since the ordeal, but realised she was probably busy with… _Jedi stuff_.

* * *

It turned out that the lowest three floors of the Phare Apartments contained the Phare Mall. As the turbolift doors opened, Oc'nel received a huge whiff of soap smell from a nearby bath store. Next to it was a droid parts store and a sign advertising cleaning services for droids— _good, we have to get that graffiti off FR_ , he thought taking a mental note.

He wandered aimlessly down the bright white-walled, marble-floored crowded halls, bustling with the crowds of Coruscant's wealthier demographics—mostly human, but with groups of Grans, Pantorans, and an Iktochi wearing an elaborate cloak. There were any Rodians he could see, nor Weequay, Trandoshans, nor Wookiees, nor any insectoid sentients.

Oc'nel looked curiously at anything that looked like it was a restaurant. Passing a grocery store, he took another mental note as to where he can buy more food for the kitchen. _I flew all the way to Sempromarket for no reason for Bith milk,_ he thought angrily. _Ah well, at least I know it's here now_.

Eventually, Oc'nel walked into a restaurant simply called Mygeeto Burritos. _What is a burrito?_ As the door closed behind him, he smelled the painful smell of spicy food. He started backing towards the door—

"—Hey there!" a female with a very strange accent yelled from somewhere.

"Um hi," Oc'nel winced. _Damn. Spicy food. I was trying to escape. Where did that voice come from?_ He approached the counter curiously, smelling a musky mammalian smell he had never encountered before.

As he drew nearer to the counter, he looked down and saw a very fluffy, tiny, dark-grey and black thing, about one meter tall. She had giant triangular ears, majestic yellow eyes with black pupils, a black mask of fur around her eyes, and a long fluffy tail. This creature's fur colour reminded Oc'nel vaguely of Sey'les, but Sey'les's fur had more patches of white colour.

In contrast to this creature's majestic body, her clothes were so ragged and outlandish Oc'nel's snout dropped open in shock. Her ensemble almost looked like she had cut three holes in a burlap sack and just slipped it on. In fact, Oc'nel was almost certain she really was just wearing a burlap sack.

_Uh, wow._ His snout hung open in surprise.

Behind the counter was a mirror which Oc'nel supposed she must need to look into to see the reflections of patrons entering the door.

"Enjoyin' the B'ankor Refuge are ya?" she asked looking up at him.

"No, actually I live upstairs," Oc'nel said with a smile. His fur swirled nervously from the intense smell of onions and spicy vegetables wafting from the kitchen. _Kriff me._ "I take it, you are a B'ankora then?"

"Nah, I am a Lurmen," she replied. "I am flattered you would think so though. I like the B'ankora. It's why I set up so close to the Refuge."

"Huh. Lurmen… I've heard that name from somewhere," Oc'nel remembered a mean prejudiced expression on Coruscant that he thought he better not repeat: _stupider than a Lurmen._ Racking his memory more he exclaimed "Oh! I always imagined you guys were… much taller."

"For sure, I always thought Bothans were shorter," she said sharply.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just never—"

"—What's that smell? Who's there?" a male voice yelled from the kitchen in the same strange accent.

"Ah calm yourself. Jus' a Bothan," she yelled. "And I reckon he don't look like any sort of tosser."

"All right I was jus' checkin' to be sure."

Oc'nel winced at their Basic.

"Well Bothan, what are you after?" the Lurmen asked bluntly. "We don't cook any meat," she added, looking up at him suspiciously.

"That's fine," Oc'nel said. "Um…" he looked down at the menu. It was set up in a build-it-yourself way, so a customer picked the burrito template and then picked the ingredients. "I guess I want a burrito with… carrots?"

The Lurmen put her hands on her hips and looked up at the Bothan sternly. "A burrito with carrots? You know what a burrito is right? You're gonna need more'n carrots in it."

"All right, I guess… Jogan fruit, Bith beans, and what's 'spinack'?"

"Spinack is good," the Lurmen said typing _spinack_ onto the datapad.

"Is it spicy?" Oc'nel asked cautiously.

"Nah, it's just a green. How much spiciness ya want in it?"

"No spiciness please," Oc'nel said.

"Are you bloody mad?" the Lurmen asked with her tiny mouth in an angry scowl.

"Okay," Oc'nel sighed. "Just a tiny bit of spiciness, and I would like to order it takeaway," he added. _No way am I eating in here amongst this… ambiance._

"Very well," the Lurmen said, holding out a transaction pad.

Oc'nel tapped his credit chip on the pad, paying six credits. As cooking and chopping noises began emanating from the kitchen, his datapad buzzed. It was an audio call.

"Oc'nel speaking, how may I—"

"—hey, Oc'nel this is Divo."

"Hey Divo, how did you get my number?" he asked curiously.

"Ah, you're on the Judicial Directory," Divo answered.

"Yeah, but only my work number is—"

"—never you mind that Bothan," Divo huffed. "I just got promoted to Chief Inspector."

"Congratulations? But you really just called to tell me that?" Oc'nel's fur swirled with suspicion.

"Nope. I heard you got suspended. I am sorry about that. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to quit the Judiciary, kriff the Navy, work for me," Divo said.

"Hmmm…" Oc'nel paused. _Do I want to work for this cop who seems to have a love-hate relationship with my species? I suppose the better question is, can I tolerate working for this cop…_ "Divo, I will think about it. I am seriously considering your offer; I will let you know that much."

"All right," Divo sighed. "Fojo said the same thing."

"Okay, well, I guess I'll discuss this more with Fojo when he is ready," Oc'nel replied. "Thank you very much for the offer though," he said with a smile.

"I guess I'll hear from you."

"Yep, bye for now," Oc'nel said, hanging up.

The Lurmen passed him this hot cylinder of foil wrapped around something "here you are," she said with a smile.

Oc'nel grabbed it curiously. It felt hot and squishy under the foil. "Thanks, could I have a fork?"

"A fork?!" she exclaimed in shock. "You eat it with your hands."

"Oh," Oc'nel said curiously.

* * *

The next morning, Oc'nel lay on Jazal's bed drying off from the shower, now messing with his datapad. _You know what? I bet there is a dryer of sorts for sale somewhere in the mall downstairs which would make my… drying off not take as long,_ he thought to himself.

He sighed. This situation was just awful. His options were to wait around until the Navy decides to finally commission him as officer and stick him on a garbage scowl or something and stay with Jazal, work for Divo and stay with Jazal, or abandon everything and go back to Bothan space.

On his datapad, all sixteen messages to Fojo were marked 'received' but Fojo had not replied in a whole day. _I hope Fojo is all right._

Looking out the window into the hazy sunlight thought, _this is a catastrophe. There is nothing that will make me feel better. Absolutely nothing. This is just—_

_—_ his datapad looked at a message.

**"Hey Itoll, I will see you this evening."**

_Okay, well not literally nothing,_ he smiled. "You know what?" he said aloud to himself. "I am going to visit the that B'ankor Refuge everyone keeps talking about. Might as well do something interesting while I am suspended."

* * *

Oc'nel departed the turbolift into the mall as he had yesterday evening. The mall was far less crowded at this time of day.

Unable to find a directory anywhere, and not wanting to ask for directions, Oc'nel decided to walk in a straight line until he found the end of the building. After five minutes of walking, it worked. He exited the building into the hazy Coruscant morning, greeted by the smell of ozone, burning fuels of dozens of types, and a familiar metallic smell. _At least there isn't the smell of rotting garbage like in CoCo Town._

He was certainly on the wrong side of the building. Ahead he could see nothing but concrete and other skyscrapers. On the street level, he could not even see the Central District Spaceport which he could see from Jazal's apartment.

A green sign with white Aurebesh letters said "B'ANKOR REFUGE STATION 150 m ↲." Oc'nel followed the arrow around the building block. Coming around the corner, the street ended at a grey concrete wall. Fifty or so meters above the street, directly overhead, was a magnetic rail connecting to a large elevated Maglev station built into the side of the wall. Escalators led from the base of the wall up into the Maglev station. Directly below the Maglev station was a gateway with an open metal gate. Through the bars, the shaded greenery on the other side was visible in the distance.

As Oc'nel approached the wall, the air smelled a lot fresher. He could smell grass-like smells for the first time since Alpheridies. The smells of pollution were still present but was a smaller part of the general mix.

Two Coruscant police droids stood ominously at the gate. Drawing nearer, Oc'nel could read an illuminated yellow sign with black letters:

**B'ANKOR REFUGE RULES AND REGULATIONS:**

· **THE REFUGE CLOSES DAILY AT 2000 HOURS. NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE B'ANKORA ASSEMBLY.**

· **PROHIBITED ITEMS INCLUDE BLASTERS, KNIVES, COAXIUM, ANTHRAX, DIOXIS, PESTICIDES, EXPLOSIVES, FIREWORKS AND CHEWING GUM. FOR A FULL LIST OF WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT BRING, VISIT B'ANKORA ASSEMBLY HOLONET DIRECTORY.**

· **WILDLIFE FROM OTHER WORLDS AND PETS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED.**

· **BOUNTY HUNTING, ARMED OR UNARMED, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.**

· **SWIMMING IS ONLY PERMITTED AT LAKE VOLAN. SWIMMING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AT ANY OF THE RESERVOIRS.**

· **FISHING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.**

· **REMOVE ANY RUBBISH YOU BRING IN, INCLUDING FOOD WASTE.**

_Swimming,_ Oc'nel thought excitedly, _I should have brought a towel._ At the rest of the regulations, Oc'nel scoffed imagining what type of demented beings would possibly try bringing anthrax or coaxium here.

As Oc'nel walked up to the open gate one of the police droids put a hand on his shoulder and began scanning his face.

"What is your purpose here?" the droid asked.

"I just wanted to see what this place is like," Oc'nel answered honestly.

"Without a day bag?" the droid asked suspiciously.

"I live right up there," Oc'nel pointed high to the Phare Apartments.

"Very well you may enter. Scan this exit key at the gate upon departure citizen Itoll Oc'nel."

Taking the red card, which the droid was holding, Oc'nel cringed momentarily at being called 'citizen' instead of 'agent' or some other title. _Wow they updated these droids fast regarding my suspension._

Immediately beyond the gate were two long escalators. One descended hundreds of meters down into the depression below, and the other ascended from the depression. Oc'nel could make out a few figures riding the escalator up from the refuge.

To his left and right, Oc'nel could see the perimeter of the wall high above the park, behind it, massive looming cityscape. The walls slowly dipped below the horizon the further he looked. The city scape was not visible directly ahead, and if Oc'nel did not know better, he would think this was the end of the city. Whether the cityscape was entirely below the horizon, or whether it was merely obscured by pollution, he did not know.

The Maglev lines did not cross the B'ankar Refuge anywhere he could see, and the only air traffic overhead was very distant. The smells of grass grew stronger as Oc'nel rode further down the escalator. Halfway to the bottom, Oc'nel passed by the group of humans riding up the escalator. They were a family of two parents and three staring kids.

The patient Bothan did not check his chronometer, but the escalator ride seemed to last several minutes. At long last his boots set foot on real grass atop a hill at the foot of the escalators. _This is really weird._

Oc'nel looked around as he followed a stone path from the base of the escalator down the hill. A group of humans were having a picnic on a red blanket just beyond the shadow cast by the wall and the cityscape. In the distance, some figures were jogging between a set of brick houses. Clusters of brick houses dotted the landscape in every direction up to the walls.

_Where are the B'ankora?_ O'cnel wondered to himself as he walked across the grassy clearing. _I'll check near that village._

He walked ten or twenty minutes in the direction of the nearest brick buildings set atop a short hill. As he got nearer, he could smell a musky, chalky, almost fibrous smell— _whatever these B'ankora are, I know they must be very wooly_ , he thought.

Crossing up hill, he suddenly saw a group of bipedal figures sitting on the steps of the nearest house, staring into space. They were coated in thick white swirly fur. One of them had a dark navy-blue face and the others seemed to be mostly pink or pinkish brown.

In the natural light of the Coruscant sun, Oc'nel could perceive the ultraviolet absorption of their fur with both his natural eye and his custom-built implant. Were these white-furred B'ankoras lying a snowy field instead of sitting on brick steps, he would be able to make them out through their slightly shaded appearance.

_These guys are really weird._ Oc'nel continued walking through the village. One B'ankora was sitting in front of a water fountain eating a bowl of greens; she turned at started at Oc'nel as he walked past her.

A human woman walked by, pushing her baby in a stroller.

The silence was beginning to bother Oc'nel. "Good afternoon," he said with a toothy grin to the mother with a stroller.

"Good afternoon," she replied.

_Humans treat this place as just another public park_ , Oc'nel realised. _Despite this being someone else's home, to the humans, it is a park to have a picnic and take their kids. Very strange._ He paused at the centre of the village, looking at the walls he could see in three directions and the looming city all around.

Being here felt like being in a crater of greenery—almost like an asteroid had hit this part of the planet, and rather than death and destruction, the asteroid instead brought a big green grassy field and some woolly lazy B'ankoras.

* * *

_These B'ankoras are kind of useless._ Oc'nel thought with exasperation as the day went on. _All they do is sit around eating plants._ As he passed his first B'ankora farm, he saw his first two B'ankoras who were actually moving. Both of them were using their arms to pull root vegetables out of the ground and put them in a pale.

_They have been here on Coruscant for 109 years and they still just sit around watching the day go by._ Oc'nel scowled. _The humans don't even know why they want the B'ankora around. Coruscant doesn't know why it wants them._

He sat under a shaded tree, scowling at the two B'ankoras pulling vegetables. As the minutes went on, a few more humans walked by on the footpaths, some pushing strollers.

The perspective from this spot was interesting. He could see the faint outline of skyscrapers beyond the greenery in every direction, but the wall was below the horizon in two directions.

Oc'nel's thoughts shifted to his suspension and current living arrangements. _You know, I am not much different from a B'ankora. I have no job, probably no future… Jazal probably doesn't know why she's obsessed with me just like Coruscant doesn't know why it is obsessed with the B'ankora._

_That means… Jazal is Coruscant? No wait, that metaphor makes no sense_. Oc'nel began snarling at his stupid train of thought.

"Why do you look so grumpy?" a female voice asked from behind.

"Whoa!" Oc'nel jumped up and spun around.

A pink and black-spotted faced B'ankora stood next to the tree. She wore a straw sunhat and a yellow and black flannel shirt with dirty soil-covered cargo pants. Once again, Oc'nel's jaw dropped open in shock at someone's ensemble clashing so much with their other traits.

"I am not grumpy," Oc'nel said quickly, his fur swirled guiltily. He gave a fake toothy grin.

"All right," the B'ankora said. Her accent was so posh that she could impersonate a Coruscant executive on an audio call and pass for human, yet she dressed like a B'ankora farmer. "What species are you?"

"Bothan. How do you know if I look grumpy if you have never even seen a Bothan?" Oc'nel asked curiously.

"Ah, so you were grumpy," she said slyly. "Frowning with teeth is fairly universal for being grumpy, Bothan."

"If you need to know, I got suspended."

"Suspended?" the B'ankora asked with a smirk. "During the All Species Week school holidays? You do look a bit old to be in school. How many years were you held back then?! Five?"

Oc'nel winced awkwardly. _Wow she must think I am stupid._ "No, I actually graduated eleven years ago. I was suspended from the Judicial forces." He showed her his large golden Peacekeeping badge from his pocket.

"Oh, and because you were suspended, you wanted to learn from us how to just be?" the B'ankora asked curiously.

"Uh. no," Oc'nel replied curtly. "Bothans don't… just be. Well I guess some of us who have failed at all of our goals might. But… back on the topic of 'universals,' what would _you_ know about the universe B'ankora?" Oc'nel asked.

"My name is K'ajej," she said, raising one eyebrow curiously like a human would.

_She has learned human facial expressions._ "Mine's Itoll," Oc'nel said, scratching the back of his neck.

"We have to go to Coruscant schools just like everyone else on the planet. Most of us don't pay attention because, unlike for the non-B'ankora, there isn't really a consequence if we don't."

"That makes sense. Even if you fail every class and don't get a cert, you can sit behind these walls eating grass and 'just be,' to use your words," Oc'nel said with a chuckle.

K'ajej glared and put her hands on her hips.

"I take it though that you, K'ajej, are not most B'ankora," Oc'nel said. "You seem curious."

"What are you implying?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing." Oc'nel paused. "Well, I guess, that you probably are passing all of your certs. I am sorry for teasing your people," he sighed. "I guess it just bothers me that my career can fall apart and yet millions of you are just… content sitting around."

"There are only ten thousand of us," K'ajej replied matter of factly.

"Only ten thousand?" Oc'nel gasped. _No wonder they have so many rules posted._

"You don't need to worry about our numbers Bothan. We are recovering as a species, I assure you. Do you not think there is wisdom just being though? The Jedi certainly do."

Oc'nel exhaled slowly through his nose.

"What does that mean?" K'ajej asked curiously.

"I dunno," Oc'nel admitted. "I mean, I dunno how much wisdom there is to it. The Jedi can still do quite a lot despite spending much of their time doing nothing, so if you ask me, they have an excuse."

"Excuse? If you knew the first thing about Jedi, you would know that it is not all about doing."

_I am pretty sure I know the first thing about Jedi… and the second…_ Oc'nel thought with a confident smirk. Suddenly the memory of Pax's annoying warning flooded into his head. _Just because you screw a Jedi… It's above your paygrade._

K'ajej stared at him curiously.

"Sorry, you just reminded me of someone, or… some-two," Oc'nel said.

"Some two?"

"Kid. Let's pretend it's a word," Oc'nel retorted. He winced at how sharp her question felt in that extremely posh accent.

She rolled her eyes and looked at him once again like he was stupid.

_Annoying teens._ "Someone is waiting for me back at my place I should—"

"—waiting for you?"

"Not in a dangerous ambush type of way," Oc'nel chuckled. "It was nice talking with you. Maybe I will see you around."

"It was… wait, this is an awkward question," she said suddenly.

Oc'nel winced. _Is a she really going to hit on me?! Uh, thanks but no thanks kid._

"Could I take a picture of your face with your heterochromatic eyes in the frame?" K'ajej asked. "I have an exobiology project due after the All Species Week break."

"Oh! Sure!" Oc'nel exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief. "Wait? B'ankora have electronics?" he asked as she pulled out a datapad from one of her shirt pockets.

"Yes… and shoes, and electricity," she replied with a frown.

"Sorry, I didn't know," Oc'nel said.

"Well okay, I am taking the photo, three, two, one."

Oc'nel grinned, staring into her datapad's lens.


	41. Jazal

Coruscant

"You are not like a B'ankora Itoll," Jazal said matter of factly as she entered her apartment.

"Wha—hi?" Oc'nel said in surprise.

While working in the Temple Crime Lab she had again been bombarded by Oc'nel's distress. This time, she had ignored it.

"You are not a B'ankora," she repeated. "I take it, you visited the refuge?"

"Yeah," Oc'nel sighed. "Jazal, I don't want you constantly in my head."

"I'm not," she replied honestly walking up to Oc'nel in the kitchen. "When you get distressed though, I can feel it sometimes. What's all of this?" Jazal pointed to the two bags of groceries next to the refrigerator.

"Oh, since you were coming home, I decided to make dinner," he smiled.

"Carrots, Jogan fruit, spinack, Bith beans, mild sauce, and Mygeeto wraps?" Jazal asked worriedly.

"I am making some burritos," Oc'nel said with an excited toothy grin. "I had one yesterday for dinner."

_Eating the same thing two days in a row? Carrots, Jogan fruit, spinack, Bith beans, mild sauce in a burrito…_ Jazal faked a smile. "That is very thoughtful. This seems like quite a lot though for just the two of us."

"Oh, I was going to make myself more burritos during the week."

Jazal sighed. "Did you enjoy the refuge?"

Oc'nel paused, looking at the roof deep in thought.

Jazal waited.

"It was interesting," he said vaguely.

"You know, Master Yoda occasionally takes the Younglings to the B'ankor Refuge to teach them how to sit still."

"Haha," Oc'nel chuckled. "K'ajej said—"

"—K'ajej?" Jazal interrupted.

"Oh, a B'ankora girl I met today. She seemed young, I think still in school," Oc'nel said.

_That's interesting…_ "You _met_ a B'ankora?" Jazal asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Oc'nel said simply. His fur showed no sign of guilt or nervousness.

_He really talked with a B'ankora in the refuge._ "That's really weird Itoll. They rarely talk to anyone. The B'ankora talk to outsiders more often when they are outside the refuge, but in the refuge, they usually only converse when they are trying to sell items to visitors. I don't think Master Yoda even has any contacts with them."

"Well, one of them talked to me for a while."

"Could you show me?" Jazal asked.

"Sure."

* * *

"Fascinating," Jazal said. "And she wanted a photo of you?!" The image of the B'ankora female was now burned in her mind.

"Yeah," Oc'nel said.

Jazal would never admit this as it was so completely against the Jedi Code, but she was jealous. Extremely jealous. She was jealous that another woman, one way too young for Oc'nel in this case, was so interested in him; she was also jealous that a member of such an elusive species was so interested in a Bothan but had essentially ignored the Jedi who frequented the refuge for the last century—Jedi who were trying to learn every spiritual thing they could about the B'ankora. _We don't get their attention_ _but a scowling Bothan does?_

She stared down at the Bothan lying under her in awe and jealousy. The hallway doorbell rang. She let go of his head.

Oc'nel gasped.

"Did you invite anyone over?!" Jazal hissed. "It told you—"

"—no I didn't," Oc'nel said. His fur stood on end in shock. He sniffed the air curiously. "It smells like—"

"—I sense a Bothan and an Ardennian," Jazal whispered. "I am going to hide."

"Useless," Oc'nel winced. "She can probably smell you already Jazal."

"She?!" Jazal whispered accusingly.

"It's Captain Sey'les," Oc'nel said nervously. Lying his back however, his fur did not swirl. "Also, I am sure the Ardennian is Wulf. They were both Judicials and now they are doing something secret in the Navy. I told you about Sey'les before, she's the feral one."

"Ugh…" Jazal sighed. "Great," she whispered sarcastically with a frown. "The feral one. Just great. The feral Bothan is at my door."

The doorbell rang again several more times. "OC'NEL, HUMAN! I CAN SMELL YOU!" an extremely thick accent snarled. The Bothan pronounced _smell_ "shmell."

"Answer it," Jazal said aloud as she gingerly got off Oc'nel's chest. She sat up on the couch.

Oc'nel ran as quickly as he could to the door.

"OC'NEL! IF YOU DON'T ANSWER I AM—"

"—Hi Sey'les," Oc'nel said. Jazal could hear the nervous wince his voice. The mechanical door slid open. "I did not expect to see you."

Jazal sighed, got up, and decided to walk to the door.

"We need to talk," Sey'les said bluntly.

Oc'nel's fur swirled with nervousness. "I know you smell someone on me Sey'les, but it is not what—"

"—hi," Jazal said. "You are kind of interrupting mine and Itoll's evening and—"

"Jazal?! Master Jazal!" Sey'les gasped. Jazal sensed her snout hang open in shock and her eyes widen. The Ardennian looked at Sey'les in a puzzled expression.

_Have I met Sey'les before?_ Jazal wondered. "Do I know you…?"

"Sey'les, Captain Sey'les ma'am," Sey'les said, shaking Jazal's hand. "It is an honour. This is Lieutenant Wulf. I read your book and your picture was in it."

Jazal paused for a moment. _The feral one read my book?!_ "You read my book? Which one?"

Oc'nel started roaring with laughter. He laughed so hysterically that he had to put his hands on his knees.

Sey'les snarled.

"Itoll, that isn't very nice," Jazal said sternly.

"Sorry Jazal," Itoll gasped for breath between laughs. "I just never thought I would ever hear you say those words Sey'les."

"You never thought I would say those words _ma'am_ ," Sey'les snarled. "I came here to offer you a position on my team Oc'nel, not to listen to your disrespect."

Jazal could not decide whether the tiny Bothan's accent was adorable or downright aggravating. She pronounced all of her s-sounds before consonants as sh-sounds and dropped the t pronouncing "disrespect" as _disrespec'_ ; it was very odd for someone wearing a formal Republic uniform, even an alien, to have such a thick accent.

"I am sorry Sey'les," Oc'nel sighed. "To be honest though, _ma'am_ , after what I saw yesterday, I am not sure I want anything to do with the Navy."

"I understand that," Sey'les sighed.

_Undershtand,_ Jazal winced. "Why don't we all come in and stop having this conversation in the hallway?" she suggested sternly. A Gran down the hall was leaning out of her doorway.

Jazal and Oc'nel stepped out of the way to allow Wulf and Sey'les to enter. As Wulf passed Jazal he said, "thank you Master," in a polite tone.

Jazal was suddenly reminded how awkward this is. They came here to talk to Oc'nel and also found a Jedi Master. _Itoll said Sey'les was "feral," but she read my book. Hopefully she won't make any big deal—_

"—So Master," Sey'les said pointedly as she sat down at Jazal's dinner table, "how long have you and Oc'nel been…?"

"We're not," Oc'nel winced.

Wulf laughed as he sat down.

Jazal sighed. "A month."

Wulf blew a long, impressed whistle. Everyone glared at him.

"Sorry Master, sorry ma'am, sorry Oc'nel," Wulf said, awkwardly tapping sixteen of twenty fingers on the table nervously.

"Don't worry. Master Jedi, I won't tell _anyone_ ," Sey'les said, zipping her lips in a human hand gesture. "I see this stuff with Jedi all the time. Out of the Jedi I've worked with, Suldor and Master Vos both… well…"

_Yep. Definitely one hundred percent feral. What a mess._

"Well, you just told me," Oc'nel growled cautiously.

"You told me too Captain, over and over again," Wulf muttered. "Even though I told you a million times, I did not want to know."

Jazal groaned. "Let's talk about… Itoll, why don't you make us some burritos? Do you want burritos?"

Oc'nel sighed with relief excited to leave the table. "Thanks, yeah I will do that."

"Burritos?" Sey'les asked curiously.

"They are a Lurmen dish," Oc'nel explained.

"Yeah, I guess I'll try them," Wulf smiled.

Before Oc'nel got up, Sey'les growled something in Bothese.

Oc'nel was enraged and snarled back too fast for Jazal to make out any words except _Nųkįz—_ _no._

Sey'les returned a snarl.

Jazal turned exasperatedly from one Bothans to another, one of whom was her romantic partner, snarling at each other like wild animals. She began to regret her life choices. _Bothans. What the hell am I doing with my life?_ "ITOLL, SEY'LES, STOP OR I WILL THROW YOU OUT," Jazal snarled.

Everyone stared at her.

"I'll make the burritos," Oc'nel growled. "She was asking if I was just with you for intel, so I got upset, Jazal." He glared at Sey'les.

"He's not," Jazal said confidently.

"How do you know?" Sey'les demanded. "Lots of Bothans would love to get compromising information on a Jedi."

"If he were doing that," Jazal said in her Jedi lecturer voice, "do you think he would admit to it?"

"Well, not immediately," Sey'les said matter of factly.

Oc'nel began chopping the carrots.

"Do you need any help with the burritos Itoll? I have made burritos before following actual Lurmen recipes." _Please say yes, please say—_

"—No, I'm fine."

Jazal sighed in disappointment. She could hear the cocky smile in his voice.

* * *

Jazal grimaced as she bit into her unspicy, fruity, carroty, Bith bean-filled burrito. The fruit juices soaked the Lurmen wrap with every bite.

Wulf ate his slowly as if it gave him very mixed feelings. The Bothans were a different story entirely.

"These are pretty good," Sey'les remarked, enthusiastically munching on hers.

"Thanks," Oc'nel smiled and took another bite. "Hey Sey'les, why exactly do you want me on your team and why didn't you ask before yesterday?"

"You rejected your commission offer."

"Oh yeah…"

"I know you're not going to like it, but Governor Tarkin managed—"

"—Tarkin?!" Oc'nel mumbled in an alarmed voice, his snout full of burrito.

"He's our Commander," Wulf said.

"Tarkin…" Jazal muttered.

"I know who Tarkin is," Oc'nel growled. "The sketchiest Judicial in Galactic history is your commander?"

"Yeah," Sey'les winced. "You will be directly under my command though," she said consolingly. "I report to Tarkin but you will just report to me. Tarkin has plenty of oversight, I assure you."

"What exactly is it that you do now _Captain_ Sey'les?" Oc'nel asked.

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously. "I don't know. The last few days we've been listening to sound clips."

_You don't know what you do?_ Jazal shook her head. _Feral._

"So, just so you know where you stand Sey'les, I have two job offers. One, I join the Coruscant police, I've already got an offer from Tanivos Divo. And the other? To do something you don't even know, as a Lieutenant even though I've been in the Judicial forces for only one year less than you ma'am."

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously.

"Sey'les, if you need to tell us something, just say it," Jazal said unable to tolerate the Bothan's omissions any longer. "You haven't Itoll us what you do, you haven't even told him your job title, trying to rope him in with subterfuge is not fair to him."

Sey'les sighed. "Okay, Wulf and I are 'Direct Action Operatives.' I am being honest when I say I don't know what we do though. So far, we have been assisting Engineers and Intel officers. The Governor calls us 'Rangers.' He thinks Ranger sounds really rogue and I think the name is pretty rogue myself."

"Yeah, I agree," Wulf added. "Pretty rogue."

"Also, to be honest Oc'nel," Sey'les growled. "I expected you to be desperate. I expected you to just say yes the moment I presented an offer." Her fur swirled guiltily. "I didn't prepare for this. Also," she winced nervously, "you are kind of an Ensign, not a Lieutenant."

"AN ENSIGN?!" he yelped. "Kind of an Ensign?"

"You kriffed up big time Oc'nel. Lieutenant Commander Moss got pissed when we decided to recruit you," Sey'les said bluntly. "On the other hand, we've arranged it so you don't have a black mark on your record, and you will be promotable. I imagine you'll be a captain in three years."

Oc'nel sighed and stared at Wulf.

From his head, Jazal could hear Oc'nel whine in a baritone growl _Wulf will outrank me! Wulf!_ She put her hand on his shoulder consolingly. "Itoll, you really don't have to—"

"—So, my record is really going to be clear?" he growled cautiously.

"Yep," Sey'les said with a smile. "Tarkin is actually really happy that you made it into the hangar with the Coruscant police. If it weren't for you, they all would have just escaped."

"We will be based on Coruscant?" Oc'nel growled more sternly.

"Yes… well for now at least. Our headquarters will definitely stay here. I can't imagine the Governor moving us to—"

"—Eriadu," Oc'nel interrupted.

Sey'les looked up thoughtfully. Wulf looked confused.

"He is from Eriadu you know," Oc'nel said as if it needed to be said.

"Oh!" Wulf exclaimed.

"Well, there's no way we would be moved. They are doing so much construction on our behalf. It would all be wasted if they dumped us on Eriadu," Sey'les said.

"That does make sense," Jazal admitted. "Itoll though, you really don't have to accept anything right now," she sighed. "It seems both of your offers would let you stay here with me."

"Yeah, but if I join the Coruscant police it will almost certainly be with a dishonourable discharge from the Judicial forces on my record," Oc'nel sighed looking down at his empty plate. "I'll probably have to fight tooth and nail for every promotion I get. That offer doesn't come with a completely clean slate, and I don't really like the Coruscant police inspector who made the offer anyways. Sey'les? I want Fojo to get a second chance too. If I join you, will you bring on Fojo too? He is in even more trouble than I am."

Wulf grinned excitedly.

Sey'les beamed with delight but then straightened out her face. Her fur swirled guiltily. "I will see what I can do," she said in a straight voice, a completely convincing lie. "It might be really difficult though to get Fojo's name cleared."

_She lies well but I can read her fur._ "Sey'les," Jazal hissed.

"Yes Master?" Sey'les croaked nervously.

"You are lying. That is a fact. I don't what you are lying about, but you are lying. Are you lying because you won't recruit Fojo or are you lying about something else?"

"I want Fojo on the team Master," Sey'les blurted out. "I was going to ask him next," she stammered.

Oc'nel rolled his eyes.

"There is one more thing," Sey'les growled nervously.

"What, Captain?" Oc'nel demanded.

"Tarkin has set up this ranger qualification course. You have to walk through a sticky, hot, mucky, fake jungle and shoot targets in it. It is pretty hard. I am sure you can both pass it though if you are prepared," Sey'les said confidently. "I tried getting three humans on my team though and two of them failed. The third… the back-stabbing Navy gave a commission as Captain."

"All right, when will our physical be?" Oc'nel asked as Sey'les passed him her datapad with a form to sign.

"You and Fojo will be assessed in two days. That too soon?"

"I'll ask Fojo."

_I really don't trust this Sey'les_ , Jazal thought worriedly.

* * *

"I really don't trust—"

Jazal stopped when Oc'nel put his furry finger on her lips. _"Shush!"_ he hissed.

Sey'les and Wulf's footsteps became quieter through the door as they walked down the hallway towards the turbolift.

"All right," he said.

"I really don't trust Sey'les," Jazal sighed. "I don't sense any hostility or ill-intent towards you from her, but she is being duplicitous."

"Jazal, you are a bit duplicitous yourself," Oc'nel retorted.

"What do you mean?" Jazal asked sharply.

"You used duplicitous tactics to distract me from finding out about… this place," he sighed.

Jazal sensed his fur swirling suspiciously. She hugged him. "I would never hurt you," she said into his ear. "I was just afraid."

Oc'nel hugged her back. "I know, but—"

"—I love you. You know that, right?" Jazal interrupted.

"Yes, but I am trying to say… ugh, stop trying to distract me," Oc'nel let go of Jazal. "I am trying to say that I think Sey'les is just in a mess. She is way over her head."

"What do you mean?" Jazal asked curiously, taking one step back.

"The only person she has managed to recruit to her entire team is Wulf. Wulf has served with her in the Judicial forces for years; even before she was a team leader," Oc'nel explained. "No one wants to touch this thing Tarkin has set up because Tarkin is so… dubious. She is trying to oversell the offer to get me to accept it."

"And, even though you know this, you are going to accept?" Jazal asked sternly.

"Well yeah," Oc'nel said. "What other option do I have? Honestly wiping my record clean is better than I thought they would do."

"You could just be content and live in my place. When I leave the Jedi Order, I will, no doubt, be offered a position at the Institute of Applied Science," Jazal pointed in the direction of the balcony. Beyond was the institute itself, literally a ten-minute walk and travellator ride across the avenue.

"And just sit here in your apartment?" Oc'nel asked with a scowl. "I don't think I am at the point where I want to just give up on all my goals Jazal. You said it earlier: I am not a B'ankora."


	42. Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

Observing the Ranger qualification course from the command module presented a very different perspective. From this overhead angle, Sey'les could see how Tarkin and the Corps of Engineers had painstakingly made the lanes all very much the same, despite having real organic trees that were slightly different.

The branches poked in different directions, but the trees were in roughly the same places. Oc'nel was in lane 2 and Fojo in lane 4.

From hidden recording devices all over the course, Sey'les and Tarkin could hear everything Oc'nel and Fojo said. She heard them both gasp as Tarkin informed them that there are traps dealing out electric shocks " _Sey'les forgot to mention that part_ ," Oc'nel had muttered. She heard Fojo and Oc'nel swearing as they bumped into not one, but two, traps. She winced painfully, knowing Oc'nel would get zapped, as he curiously approached the same fruit tree she had " _Ahhh Kriff!"_

Her heart sunk as Fojo expended his fiftieth shot without having hit enough targets. She sighed. Oc'nel had hit 29, in the low range of passing.

"Don't be so glum yet," Tarkin said with a smirk. "let's observe how they handle this obstacle."

"Wait and see what Governor?" Sey'les asked.

A camera zoomed in on Fojo. At the top of the tree, he was fiddling around with the blaster's energy pack.

_What could he possibly be doing?_ Sey'les gasped in shock.

Fojo pulled out the energy pack, saw that it was a double-sided energy pack, and flipped it over to the half with fifty more charges. He resumed firing.

A camera zoomed in on Oc'nel. His head lifted higher in a curious Bothan look as he realised Fojo had run out of energy, but then continued firing. He released his blaster rifle's energy pack then saw a red glowing light at the top and a green glowing light on the bottom. "Haha, crafty human that Tarkin," Oc'nel chuckled to himself. He too resumed firing.

"I am so sorry they are cheating Governor. I will reprimand them! This is an outrage!" Sey'les stammered in a panic.

Tarkin smirked and looked down at her holding his hands behind his back. "You and Wulf had that option too, and so has everyone else. Only six participants, counting Oc'nel and Fojo, have figured out thus far that the DC-15s on this course have a hundred shots, not fifty. In the field, the DC-15s will have three hundred shots. It is part of the puzzle Sey'les, an optional one. A puzzle for less accurate participants who are creative enough to figure it out to solve."

Sey'les gasped again in shock. _This is not fair! I could have gotten one hundred percent if I knew that!_ She scowled angrily.

"Yesterday I was quite amused when one participant figured it out and those in the other lanes just got confused. Why look, it's happening again! Amazing!" Tarkin sounded positively delighted that someone was unable to figure out what was happening.

A confused Dowutin was looking at his blaster, then looking in Fojo and Oc'nel's direction.

"And… it looks like Oc'nel hit all fifty. Fojo is finishing with 40, Vernosh is finishing with 31, with just one half of his blaster clip," Tarkin said. "Let us go down to congratulate them Captain. Captain?"

Sey'les was scowling, her face in a toothy angry snarl.

"Captain, relax. They did nothing wrong," Tarkin commanded. When her expression did not change he added, in a very dangerous-sounding tone, "Relax! That is an order."

"I am sorry Governor," Sey'les stammered nervously. She followed Tarkin down the stairs trying to hide her outrage.

Oc'nel was panting in the humidity and looked even more delirious than she had. Sey'les began panting herself after leaving the comfort of the airconditioned observation tower. Fojo and the Vernosh were both sweating profusely, giving the air a mix of Rodian and Dowutin funk.

"Congratulations are in order Ensign Oc'nel. You have hit all fifty targets, on two energy packs. You are only the third participant to do so."

The Dowutin turned and looked at Oc'nel suspiciously but said no verbal objections.

"Thank you, Governor," Oc'nel panted. He took a deep breath of air then began panting again.

"Ensign Fojo, you hit 40 targets out of fifty, and Lieutenant Vernosh, you hit 31 out of 40 on one clip. You both pass, Congratulations."

"Thank you, Governor," Fojo said with a slight smirk.

"Thank you, Governor," Vernosh said in a deep slightly angry voice. Sey'les could tell what he was thinking: _two energy packs?! I only had one!_

"Ensign Fojo, Ensign Oc'nel, I am dismissing you to accompany Captain Sey'les," Tarkin turned to the Dowutin. "Lieutenant Vernosh, I was going to dismiss you to Captain—oh well, here he is, Captain Higil you are late."

"I am sorry Governor," the Mon Calamari said.

"You are a Captain now, sir?" Fojo asked curiously.

"Yes Ensign, I am a Captain," the Mon Calamari said brightly. "I am in the 109th Mobility Corps, and you Captain?"

"Sey'les," she panted extending a hand. "I am Captain Sey'les in the Strategic Advisory Cell."

"Strategic Advisory Cell? What is it that you do in the—"

"—that's classified," Tarkin said sternly.

"Yes Governor. Sorry," Sey'les winced. "I am a Ranger who does the _classified_."

"Ooh, sounds mysterious," Higil chuckled with throaty Mon Calamari laughs.

Tarkin stared at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sey'les, you know where to go if you need to contact me, I will be back in the Cell shortly, dismissed."

"Very well, have a good afternoon Governor Tarkin," Sey'les panted. "Follow me Ensigns."

* * *

Sey'les was standing outside of the men's locker room, waiting for her Ensigns to get ready so she could take them to the SBI Operations Room.

"I can't believe they made Higil a Captain!" Oc'nel snarled from within.

"I know!" Fojo laughed. "He's gonna get his team killed in an accident or something."

"They say there are different types of leaders," Oc'nel said, his voice echoing so loudly from the men's locker room that even a human could probably hear. "Clever ones who are lazy, clever ones who are diligent, stupid ones who are lazy, and stupid ones who are diligent. The clever-lazy ones come up with good systems to get things done. The clever-diligent ones just follow set routines and get things done. The stupid and diligent ones, like Captain Higil, are the most dangerous because they are—"

"—MEN! HURRY UP IN THERE!" Sey'les snarled.

"Sorry ma'am," Oc'nel said.

_Kriffing idiots._

Oc'nel and Fojo emerged a minute later wearing brand new dark green dress tunics, dark green pants, and shiny boots. Both of them had ensign rank insignias—one red square over one blue square.

"Come on," Sey'les sighed.

* * *

Oc'nel and Fojo familiarised themselves with their tasks fairly quickly. With three Bothans present, Krennic was now able to exploit Oryon's cryptography expertise, and use Sey'les and Oc'nel as his listeners. For some reason, Krennic had Joran and Fojo now delving through the nonsensical Geonosian sentences looking for anything that might be a medical term.

"This is kind of fun ma'am," Oc'nel said with a smile as he traced his furry finger over a segment of Geonosian speech.

"I'll admit, yeah it is," Sey'les said with a toothy smile of her own.

_It is kind of fun but also a kriffing stupid waste of time._ A scowl replaced her unexpectedly entertaining, the assignment with Krennic was taking far longer than Sey'les had anticipated, and it did not seem to be yielding any results. Krennic was trying desperately to find any meaning out of it. At least she now had half a team and could relax.

"Sey'les?"

Sey'les looked up from her terminal into Krennic's face. Joran and three of his officers were standing behind him. "Yes Krennic?"

"Governor Tarkin wants your team and Joran's team back, apparently there's been an emergency of some sort on the Senate Landing Pad."

* * *

Sey'les and Joran walked at the front of the group on the way back to the the Strategic Advisory Cell's Ranger Division. Sey'les could hear Oc'nel sniffing the air curiously as the four Rangers and four Corps of Engineers officers entered the doorway.

Tarkin was waiting behind the door. "We have an emergency situation," he said calmly, gesturing to a large viewscreen at the back.

Sey'les gasped.

On the viewscreen a ball of fire was on top of the Senate landing pad. Around the ball of fire sat three Naboo starfighters. Fire crews were flying overhead spraying the area with foam.

"What happened? Was it another defection Governor?" Sey'les asked.

"Not quite. Someone, it seems, tried and failed to blow up Senator Amidala. We, at the Strategic Advisory Cell, do not have much in the way of crime scene infrastructure yet, the Jedi and Coruscant police can handle that. However, I do have four engineers."

Tarkin gestured to the four Corps of Engineers officers in white coats.

"With all due respect Governor," Joran said, "I am a mechanical engineer, Olbek is a computer engineer, Zedar is a HoloNet infrastructure specialist. Nigh is our only Civil Engineer," he gestured to Lieutenant Nigh, the black-haired human female.

"Well," Tarkin said in a cautious tone, "you have plenty of experience with space station infrastructure Joran so I am sure you would do quite fine with a bit of civil engineering, and what I want out of this is just…" Tarkin sighed. "For us all to actually be _useful_ ," he said the last word with venomous emphasis in a hiss. "I want all eight of you on that scene in twenty minutes. Gear up!"

"Yes Governor," Sey'les and Joran both said. "Wulf, Oc'nel, Fojo, follow me," she said, leading the way to the armoury.

Ranger Team 1 was already in the armoury gearing up.

"Good afternoon Seegers," Sey'les greeted the Captain of Ranger Team 1, a brown-haired human male.

"Good afternoon," he replied.

Ranger Team 1 now had a full complement of eight Rangers. Five humans, four males, one female, an Aqualish female, a Trandoshan male, and a Twi'lek male.

"Hey Jassk!" Oc'nel said then quickly added "ma'am," noting she was a Lieutenant. "I thought you were a comm operator…"

"Had a bit of a career change…" Jassk replied. She looked awkwardly at Oc'nel's rank insignia with wide eyes and muttered "Ensign." She paused, staring at the Bothan, clearly wondering what he had done to get that rank.

Oc'nel's fur swirled with embarrassment.

Jassk resumed talking. "I am Ranger Team 1's cyber specialist though, so somewhat related and not too much of a career—"

"—Jassk, we really have to hurry. Tarkin wants us guarding the Senate building, looking very important ASAP," Seegers said with a hint of humour as he strapped his rifle around his shoulder.

"Sorry sir," Jassk sighed and resumed grabbing gear.

"Nice chatting with you all though," Seegers said as he walked out with his team hurrying after.

"Oc'nel, Fojo, your gear is in lockers number seventeen and eighteen and your rifles are the same numbers," Sey'les said pointing towards the end of the room.

"Thank you, ma'am," Oc'nel and Fojo said hurrying to their sections.

Sey'les put on her armour vest, clipped on her dark green kneepads and elbow pads, then slipped on her helmet. Last she slipped on her blaster rifle strap.

"All right, we are just going to be at the pad for maybe an hour or two. I wouldn't bring more than one canteen of water," she advised.

* * *

Ranger Team 2 accompanied the four Corps of Engineers Joran, Olbek, Zedar, and Nigh on a noisy LAAT to the Senate landing pad.

"What exactly are we doing Joran?" Sey'les asked curiously, yelling over the roar of the engines.

"To be honest, ma'am, I am not entirely clear on that," Joran yelled back. "Governor Tarkin wants us to be useful though. I presume that means inspecting the safety of the structure since none of us can do anything else."

"And we stand around holding blasters," Wulf yelled with a grin.

Oc'nel and Fojo exchanged worried looks.

"Permission to speak frankly ma'am," Fojo pipped up.

"Sure, why the kriff not?" Sey'les yelled.

"Ma'am, this is the most pointless mission I have ever participated in," Fojo yelled.

"Me too Ensign… me too," Sey'les growled.

A few conversation-free yet noisy minutes went by. Once the LAAT hovered up to the landing pad, the doors opened letting in the smell of ozone and burning fuel. The smoke was still blackening the skyline.

The four Direct Action Operatives and four Corps of Engineers stepped out of the LAAT onto the pad.

"This is an active crime scene and a restricted area. Who are you and where is your clearance?" an old human Jedi demanded.

"I am Captain Sey'les and have brought a Team of Engineers to um… assess the safety of this place," Sey'les said, her confidence faltering. "Here is my badge… Badges?"

Oc'nel, Fojo, Wulf, Joran, Olbek, Zedar and Nigh showed their badges.

"Very well," the old Jedi said. "I am Master Wilkol Shin-Zo. That is a crime scene droid called Russo," he pointed to a droid wandering around under the wreckage of the ship making scans. "And this is Master Jazal," he gestured to the right. The red haired Miraluka emerged out of the smoke.

Sey'les's snout fell open momentarily in shock then she shut it. "Greetings Master Wilkol, Greetings Master—"

"—Sey'les there is no need to pretend we are unacquainted," Jazal huffed impatiently. "I already know many of these Naval officers from when they were Judicials Wilkol," she explained in a half-truth. "We can trust that they are on our side, but I do not know how useful they can make themselves. Why are you here exactly Captain?"

Sey'les's fur swirled guiltily as she thought of things to say.

"Give me an honest answer please," Jazal said impatiently. "This is a serious mess we are in, Bothan."

"The Strategic Advisory Cell wants to look important," Sey'les said honestly but with an awkward wince.

Wilkol started laughing in earnest.

"We can be of some use though, well, at least one Lieutenant Nigh on my team can be," Joran said confidently as he stepped forward. "She is a Civil Engineer."

"Greetings Masters Jedi," Nigh said with an awkward wave.

"Very well, Sey'les, I will let you and your team look important on one condition," Wilkol said.

"What is it sir?" Sey'les growled nervously.

"Put Nigh in command since she can actually do something and actually knows how you can best stand out of the way while looking important. Also, Nigh?"

"Yes sir?" Nigh asked.

"Keep them out of the crime scene itself unless I give the go-ahead. We can't have evidence contamination."

"Understood," Nigh said confidently.

"All right, you heard the Jedi," Sey'les yelled, facing her team. "Lieutenant Nigh is in charge of the structural safety assessment. I will lead the military operation. Nigh? Where should we stand holding blasters looking important?"

"Well Captain, I guess you could follow me around in a circle. I am going to be scanning the tops of all of the tube columns for damage. This type of landing platform is supported by a large complex of tube frames," she explained. "Now, I need to get my ruck off the LAAT," she said awkwardly and hopped back onto the LAAT.

After retrieving her rucksack from the LAAT, Nigh assembled an umbrella-sized pole and attached some sort of datapad to the top. She wandered from column cap to column cap, with the Rangers following her pretending she needed to be guarded.

_Damn we must look important_ , Sey'les thought wryly.

Eventually, the Rangers and Corps of Engineers officers walked all the way around the circumference of the landing pad, back to where Jazal was standing.

"I see why you were unable to explain what it is you do," Jazal said with a hint of humour as she clipped something up from the ground with a thin instrument and put it in a plastic bag.

Wulf chuckled.

Oc'nel looked downright embarrassed and looked awkwardly at the ground as if afraid of being recognised by someone.

"Yeah, would you believe me if I told you I spent the whole morning doing some complex finger painting?" Sey'les sighed.

Jazal laughed in earnest at that.

"Master Jazal," Russo said in his robotic voice. "Be careful when you laugh. Each laugh expels millions of—"

"Russo, I know that, I have a PhD in Exobiology."

"Very well, but really, do be careful," Russo repeated, walking away back into the wreckage.


	43. Kev Rel'skar

Coruscant

Kev Rel'skar was now the newest Jedi Knight. The an amber eyed, Clan Askar Bothan, with a flowing black mane and brown fur sat diligently in his room in reflection.

He still had a sore spot on his back from his Trial of the Flesh and cringed remembering how unexpectedly painful it was. Now, he was looking forward to his Gap Years—the time between when a Jedi becomes a Knight and they get their first Padawan or first Temple assignment. _Maybe I'll travel to—_

_—_ a knock interrupted his thoughts. "Kev are you there?" Master Depa Billaba's voice echoed through his door.

Rel'skar opened his door. He blinked in shock at the smell. Depa Billaba looked like her usual self—dark haired human with unusual light brown eyes, but she smelled like a bonfire mixed with fuel. "Is everything all right?" Rel'skar asked.

"There was an explosion and I was in close proximity to a Senator who was nearly killed. Have you spoken with Masana since your trials?"

"I am sorry to hear that." Rel'skar said calmly. "Yes, we meditated together shortly afterward my trials."

"Good," Billaba said, standing in the doorway. She sounded more unsure of himself and looked as if she did not know what to say now. Something had thrown her off guard.

"I am in the process of planning my Gap Years," Rel'skar said with a toothy grin.

"Really?" Billaba stared at Rel'skar as if that were the stupidest thing she had ever heard in her life. "In case you didn't notice, this is a bad time to go on an extended vacation. Half of the Galaxy—"

"—Masana Tide warned me about you," Rel'skar growled cautiously. "She said you have an entire intelligence network on Coruscant and that you will want to pluck me and make me a part of it just because I am Bothan."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a 'network' exactly," Billaba said evenly. "This assignment in particular is—"

"—is it a Temple assignment Master?" Rel'skar interrupted.

"It is off the books," Billaba admitted. "Kev Rel'skar, one of the reasons you passed your trials today is that we needed to free up Masana Tide for other assignments," she said gravely. "You fainted during your trial of the flesh. Some on the Council were against your passing."

"Is it not true that you never had to endure your Trial of the Flesh?" Rel'skar growled cautiously.

"Kev Rel'skar, that is none of your business and I don't know how—"

"—your trial of the Flesh was the loss of your parents, was it not?" Rel'skar asked more confidently. "You suffered no physical injuries. How would you know whether or not you would have fainted during your trial when your Trial of the Flesh was the suffering of someone else? It was not you who was brutally tortured to death and—"

"—do not ever speak of that again," Billaba said in a controlled voice, but a voice that sounded like it was on the edge of fury. "I cannot believe you would…" she gasped. She looked so shocked and insulted that she was at a loss for words.

Rel'skar gulped nervously."My apologies Master," he bowed. "I hope that I can—"

"—go on vacation," she interrupted curtly. "No, you can't. In case you didn't remember, I was not allowed to take any Gap Years either. I immediately had an assignment and soon took up a Padawan."

"You want me to take up a Padawan?" Rel'skar gasped in fear, his fur flattening tightly against his body. _Four to eight years down the drain the day I become a Knight!_

"Oh, the Force no! After that disgusting display you just showed. Train a Padawan!" she yelled exasperatedly putting an arm on the doorframe.

Rel'skar backed from the doorframe slightly. "I am sorry Master. I came off on the wrong foot—"

"—I have a counterintelligence assignment for you," she said in a shaky voice.

Rel'skar started trying to think of things to say that would turn down this inane assignment and also not result in him being expelled from the Jedi Order the day he became a Knight. None came to mind.

"Here," she handed Rel'skar a datapad. It had a Bothan's face on it. He was dressed in blue at the neck and shoulders, clearly a Judicial Uniform, and he his left eye was bright blue while his right eye was brownish red. His name was Itoll Oc'nel.

"If you think… Depa, may I call you Depa?" Rel'skar asked.

"No. No, you may not," she said curtly.

"Fine. Master Billaba. To be frank—"

"—Kev Rel'skar, I would strongly advise you to consider carefully the next words to come out of your snout," she said sternly.

"All right," Rel'skar sighed. "I am not the best Bothan to spy on my people. They are not exactly my people. Basic is my first language and I only learned Bothese as a second language. I have never been to Bothan space in adulthood and have no Bothan contacts. What exactly—"

"—one of our newest Jedi Masters is probably having a… relationship with this Bothan."

Rel'skar gasped in shock.

"That is not my concern. If you discover that, it's old news."

"You don't care that she is—"

"—Kev no I don't. And no, I wouldn't ask this of a Jedi and get involved in other beings' business over things like this. Intruding on the business of others is also against the Jedi Code. What I fear is that Itoll Oc'nel is a spy, probably working for Clan Onel, but maybe even the Separatists. I am worried he may have compromised the Jedi. Some Jedi psych profiles have been posted on Alya Analytics recently, and Ensign Oc'nel's former team leader, Zuro Pax, committed treason."

Rel'skar paused, digesting this information.

"My intelligence sources say that well…" Billaba opened a new image of the Bothan standing on a balcony next to a small speeder. "Recently, Itoll Oc'nel started renting an apartment in the Central District. The day after he started renting there, his team leader defected to the Separatists along with over a dozen other Judicials. Today, he was commissioned as a Naval officer with the rank of Ensign, assigned to the Republic's Strategic Advisory Cell—a cell that is only one step away from the Chancellor."

Rel'skar gasped. "But Master, I know nothing of counterespionage or espionage. Just because I am a Bothan does not mean—"

"—I am sure you can work it out, it's in your blood," Billaba retorted huffily. "You have access with my contacts. I have given you Dexter Jettster's contact information here," Billaba added, placing the datapad firmly in Rel'skar's hands. "In the meantime, Rel'skar, I have to help Master Kenobi chase up some leads."

"Very well Master Billaba, what is it you want me to do more specifically?" Rel'skar asked, more confidently.

"Find out whether or not Itoll Oc'nel works for someone other than the Republic. If you can find no evidence, then leave him be. Oh, and, given how unwise your comments to me were, stay the hell away from Master Jazal. If you think I have a temper Kev… Let's just say, she successfully forced the Council to expel Rael Averross on her first assignment with him, a feat no one else managed to do in forty years."

Rel'skar gulped nervously. "I hope to see you soon, Master Billaba."

* * *

Rel'skar sat on his bed nervously, looking out the window towards the Judicial Arcology, still undergoing heavy construction. _As a Jedi Knight, I have clearance to be in that building_ , he thought. _I should just ask Ensign Oc'nel_ , he thought wryly.

_Ensign Oc'nel_ … the more Rel'skar thought of the heterochromatic Bothan, the angrier he felt. _That kriffing Oc'nel. Kriffing Oc'nel sticking his dick into the Jedi Order is_ … "Arrgh!" Rel'skar snarled furiously.

He remembered Master Billaba's comments about the relationship not being the focus. _Oc'nel isn't worth getting so angry over. I must control my temper. Itoll Oc'nel isn't worth my time… He isn't worth it? Huh! I can make this investigation go faster._

Rel'skar slowly stood up and began pacing the room. _Asking Itoll Oc'nel whether he is a spy may be fruitless, but there are other ways_.

The Bothan Jedi briskly left his room, walking quickly to the staircase. _The Archives… holocrons… I'll show Master Billaba. I am not an intelligence operative, but I am a Jedi._

* * *

"Kev Rel'skar, the Holocron on Mind Probes is restricted," Master Jocasta Nu said gravely. "I have to record every instance a Jedi accesses it," she said typing on her terminal. "For what purpose are you trying to learn Mind Probes?"

"Trying to learn Mind Probes?" Rel'skar asked with a straight face, lying so calmly that not even his fur swirled. "I am not trying to learn Mind Probes. I am merely, curious and would like to study a firsthand account."

"You seem honest enough," Nu said serenely. "In that case, I will refer you to Master Daq Krath's non-restricted work: _A History of Interrogative Techniques and their Ethical Practices in the Justice System._ "

_Kriff me!_ "Very well," Rel'skar sighed. _Perhaps I could learn enough from that book to figure out the basics of a Mind Probe. Hell, this Oc'nel seems pretty foolish. Maybe I could even mind-trick him._

Rel'skar pulled out his datapad staring at Oc'nel's differently coloured eyes and curly eyelashes. _Ranger or not, Ensign or not, Bothan or not, this will be a piece of cake. No intelligence necessary._

"No intelligence necessary," the Bothan said aloud to himself, deep in his schemes, ironically surrounded by the collective knowledge of a thousand generations of Jedi. "No intelligence necessary," he growled again with a vicious toothy smile. His smile progressively grew more and more feral.

Jocastu Nu stared at the young Bothan quizzically with one eyebrow raised.

* * *

Rel'skar had stayed up nearly the whole night reading the chapters on mind tricks for interrogation, the problems with them inadvertently causing false confessions, and mind probes. _Kriff this is boring! I thought counselling was boring._ After 0500, the Bothan fell sound asleep, his drooling snout laying on the book.

He woke up at midday, completely exhausted. Dressing into his thick Jedi Robes, he decided to skip breakfast, and have lunch. _First, I need to talk with a Jedi who knows a thing or two about mind probes._

Walking through the long corridors of the temple, up and down flights of stairs, Rel'skar arrived at Quinlan Vos's quarters. He knocked. There was no answer. "Master Vos?"

"Master Vos is gone on a mission still. Master Tholme tried visiting him this morning," a female voice said.

Rel'skar spun around. It was the Tholothian, Stass Allie. He had never spoken with her but knew her by reputation.

"You seem… troubled," she said simply.

"Master," Rel'skar growled cautiously, "do you happen to know anything about mind probes? I think I have them down in theory, but I have never prac—"

"—why do you Bothans always want to know about mind probes?!" Allie demanded to know in a testy voice. "Did Lir Sey'les ask you to do one on her?"

"Lir Sey'les? I am afraid I don't know who you are talking about."

"You seem quite young…?"

"Kev Rel'skar," he croaked nervously.

"You seem quite young Kev Rel'skar. I would advise you to wait a few weeks until Master Vos gets back. I am not sure he would want to teach it to a Knight who is so young and inexperienced."

Rel'skar sighed.

"Were you at the emergency briefing this morning?"

"Emergency?" Rel'skar asked. _Kriff I slept in!_

"In that case, Kev Rel'skar, stay out of trouble. Master Yoda senses a great shatterpoint is unfolding. If you weren't invited on the mission, stay here and stay out of trouble, that's an order Knight."

"Mission? To where?" Rel'skar asked.

"It is need to know, Bothan." Allie's eyebrows furrowed suspiciously.


	44. Jazal

In Orbit of Coruscant

 **"Hey Itoll, there has been an emergency and I am sure you will find out more from your superiors. I am going to Geonosis and will be back soon."** Jazal finished her message with that and hit send.

Her datapad vibrated. **"I'm on lunch now. Geonosis! That's such a coincidence! I'll tell Captains Krennic and Sey'les that you are going to Geonosis, they'll find it funny I am sure. I'll tell you more about it when you get back."** Jazal imagined Oc'nel laughing with a toothy Bothan grin at some silly coincidence. She wished she could tell him just how serious this situation was.

Twenty-four Jedi were now crammed aboard a Consular-Class space cruiser en route to Geonosis. Their taskforce leader was Master Qid Prokos. He had been elevated to Jedi Master the same day as Jazal and was the only Jedi present with significant combat experience. Jazal was the only other Jedi present with any.

Jazal looked up from her datapad and carefully stowed it in her robes. She was seated on the cruiser's floor along with nineteen Jedi knights and four other Jedi Masters.

"We are in the midst of emergency as you have likely gathered," Qid Prokos began calmly. "What you are about to hear is not to leave this ship," the Quarren added, before pressing a button on the large Holoprojector next to him.

"Master, wait please," stammered Prosset Dibs, the other Miraluka present on the ship, a Jedi Historian Jazal had met several times before. "Would it be possible to connect this feed to my personal datapad?"

"I would also like to do that," Jazal said.

"Yes, but hurry."

Jazal and Dibs stood up, stepped gingerly over the crowd of seated Jedi, and approached the console.

Jazal put her hand on the console and felt the serial number: CXV987009. She then entered it onto her Shadowsync and connected to it wirelessly. Dibs did the same.

"All right," Prokos mumbled awkwardly, clearly not expecting to have to accommodate Jedi with different needs, "take your seats."

Waiting a few moments, Prokos finally played the recorded HoloMessage.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice emanated out from it. Jazal used her hand on her datapad to feel the concern on his projected-face: "I have tracked the Bounty Hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries of Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here, and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Commerce Guild and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku."

Shortly thereafter, Obi-Wan began deflecting shots. Jazal felt the shape of Droideka emerge onto her datapad and gasped.

"Master Windu is leading two hundred and fifteen of our warriors to rescue Master Kenobi," Qid Prokos explained. "Our job will be to provide them a distraction."

"Two hundred and fifteen Jedi on one mission!" a human Jedi yelled.

"Master Prokos, this is the largest Jedi mission in over two hundred years," Dibs said in a concerned voice.

"Indeed," Prokos' face tentacles twitched for a moment and he remained silent. "As I said, this is an emergency. We don't anticipate actually needing to do battle, but anything is possible. The presence of two hundred Jedi should be more than enough to convince the Geonosians to release Master Kenobi."

"What if it isn't?" a Rodian Jedi asked.

"In that case, we will rescue Obi-Wan with force. Our mission will be to simply enter the droid foundries and wait. We will use our presence there as yet another bargaining tool to convince the Geonosians to release Master Kenobi, and also to draw the Geonosians away from the Arena. I am uploading our movement plans to your datapads."

"Why aren't we taking any of the Navy officers other than pilots?" asked a huge female Dowutin in a worried voice. Jazal could not recall her name but had met her before.

"The Navy was formed less than two weeks ago and still organising. They have almost no combat-ready ground forces and we are Jedi. The Force is with us. We can handle this," Qid Prokos reassured.

Jazal opened her maps. She felt the rugged terrain features with her palm and rubbed her hand over their approach. It went along a windy path through a valley.

"Master Prokos," Jazal said in a slightly worried tone, "as a fellow Jedi who has seen combat and navigated rough terrain, I think the approach Master Windu gave us is… unwise."

"Unwise?" Prokos stammered in an offended tone. "Master Jazal, I would remind you—"

"—Master Prokos, my apologies for my frankness. Wouldn't the Geonosians expect us to walk straight through this valley?" she questioned, looking at Qid Prokos with her eyeless face as if to make eye contact.

"That's the idea Master Jazal," Prokos said sternly in a grave Quarren growl. She sensed his eyes narrowing. "We are meant to be a distraction, are we not?"

"I think, Master Prokos," Master Marosssk hissed, "that Master Jazal is worried we are taking unnecessary risssks." A Jedi medical doctor, Marosssk was the only Trandoshan Jedi Master and one of only two Trandoshans in the Jedi Order.

"Master Marosssk, Master Jazal," Prokos said impatiently, "we do not have time to get this entire room of historians, doctors, scientists, counsellors, holocron archivists, and librarians up to speed on the finer points of terrain navigation. If they shoot at us from the valley walls, we will simply deflect their shots."

"To be clear," Jazal said, "our overall objective for the whole mission is to rescue Master Kenobi?"

"Correct," Prokos replied curtly.

* * *

Immediately upon entering the system, they received an emergency message from Mace Windu. Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, the very same Senator who was the target of assassination mentioned in Obi-Wan's message, for reasons Jazal simply could not fathom, had landed on Geonosis herself along with Anakin Skywalker—the Chosen One. They had all been captured and were now going to be savagely sacrificed to animals publicly in the Petranaki Arena.

"Blast!" Jazal yelled aloud allowing her anger to show. "How can something like this that even happen? What is the senator thinking?"

"Master Jazal, it is not our place to question how things happened," Prokos said sternly. "We must just accept that the Force allows things to unfold as they do and proceed accordingly."

Jazal could now sense the worry around her. These non-combatants were already being asked to be a distraction for Mace Windu—now the entire taskforce was being rushed into action to save Senator Amidala.

_How could a Senator be so rash?_

The Consular ship landed with a thud. The door opened to dry, hot, dusty, oxidised air. It was currently the dry season on this part of Geonosis and they would likely not receive rain for another few months.

Jazal felt beads of sweat beginning to form on her forehead. She took off her outer cloak and hung it on the rack above the jump seats. Most of the humans did too, and so did Prosset Dibs.

To the South, Jazal sensed the start of an expanse of sand dunes. To the East and West, Jazal could sense numerous structures. Elegant spires with wavy rib-like bands, some of them had many holes. To the North, directly before them, were two sharp rocky hills and a narrow valley between.

The dry soil crunched under their feet as they walked forth into the Valley. Jazal was in the middle of the pack, standing next to Marosssk and Dibs. Qid Prokos was at the lead.

"Wait, I sense something odd," Dibs whispered.

"I do too," Jazal noted and stopped. Beneath the ground, Jazal could sense this metal… _metal plates?_ "WAIT!" Jazal yelled.

"Calm down Master Jazal," Qid Prokos said sternly. He stopped and turned around.

The two human Jedi who had been behind him brushed passed Prokos. They continued walking on ignoring Jazal.

"What is it?" Qid Prokos asked sternly. He began walking towards Jazal, his tentacles twitching angrily. "Master Windu put me in charge of this mission and if you have a problem with that, you can take it up with him, or sit on the ship."

Jazal started "there are metal plates. We need to—"

—a hot explosion eviscerated the two humans with a deafening boom.

Jazal fell down with a scream, along with a few of the other Jedi. Most of the Jedi fell over calmly, in perfect control of their emotions. To an outsider, this explosion would seem like a mere inconvenience to them.

Fallen next to Jazal, Prosset Dibs gasped in shock. Jazal sensed the pain of a dozen more Jedi as debris cut through them. Several were now dead.

"HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" Prokos screamed. "There must be land mines!"

"Why couldn't we sense them?!" a small Sullustan Jedi asked alarmed as he brushed the dust from his knees.

"We did," Dibs said angrily turning to Prokos as he stood up. "You kriffing bastard, when we return to Coruscant, you are going to explain—"

"—Dibs, calm yourself," Jazal said shakily. "We can't start fighting each other. Everyone, get the injured and dead back into the ship. We need to withdraw."

"But Master Windu—" Prokos stammered. Jazal sensed he had become dangerously unbalanced.

"—Master Windu did not foresee the land mines here," she spoke in her most consoling voice, gaining control over her fear and panic. Her voice no longer shaky. "He would not want us to walk through them."

As the taskforce began marching back to the ship carrying the wounded and dead, a clanging rolling sound began to draw closer and closer. _Blast._ "Droideka!" Jazal yelled. "We can't destroy them by deflecting their shots. If possible, try to force-push them."

Eight Droideka unfolded and Jazal began blocking a volley of shots. She ducked, held her saber with one hand in a modified, one-handed Soresu, and force-pushed two of the Droideka back into the ship's hull with her free hand. They hit with a sparking thud.

The Twi'lek female standing next to Jazal tried copying Jazal's one-handed Soresu, freeing her right hand for a force-push. She was clearly an amateur. The Twi'lek moved like she was doing a standard one-handed Makashi. Waving her blade gracefully, the Twi'lek deflected one shot into sky with the very tip in a beautiful Makashi flourish. While her flourished blade was pointing into the air, three shots cut through her chest. Two hit the human male standing behind her as well. They both died instantly.

Several more Jedi fell. The mission was devolving into a Jedi slaughter.

"IF YOU CAN'T DO ONE-HANDED SORESU, DON'T TRY," Jazal ordered. "Keep deflecting their shots and cover me."

One of their pilots emerged onto the ramp holding a blaster. The deflected shots from the Droideka were nearly hitting him.

"Get back inside!" Jazal yelled.

He retreated back into the ship.

As Dibs deflected shots using standard two-handed Soresu, Jazal lifted two Droideka at once and hurled them into two other Droideka.

"I am going to pull them in," Prokos yelled finally. "When I do, the front of the group needs to hack them."

"Copy that," Jazal yelled and began covering Qid Prokos.

Qid Prokos pulled the clustered mass of Droideka forwards. They landed, momentarily discombobulated. Jazal and the six Jedi in the front of the group leapt forward and hacked them quickly.

The Jedi were now down to just fourteen.

Jazal sensed Qid Prokos familiar warrior reassurance return. He was like Averross. When Prokos had something to fight that was personal, unlike land mines, his sense of purpose returned.

"I sense something," Dibs said.

Jazal felt an organic presence in the sky closing in from the East and West. It was difficult to make out any individuals but, by the way it changed shape, it was clearly a swarm.

"We have incoming Prokos," Jazal said, more quickly this time, so Prokos could not possibly interrupt her.

"Get on the ship! Grab the fallen!" Prokos ordered. The Jedi began running towards the ship. Prokos and Jazal remained outside covering the slower more elderly Jedi. Rather than boarding the ship, Prosset Dibs stood next to Jazal and helped cover while the line of Jedi pulling their fallen comrades slowly approached the ramp and traversed up it.

A winged figure landed over the doorway to the ship, holding a spear. Jazal surmised it must be a local.

The Geonosian was nearly the same size as Oc'nel, which surprised Jazal. She also sensed the Geonosians' snout, which was more downward-pointing than a Bothan's, but almost the same length. His skin was motley wrinkles instead of furred, his eyes were far bigger than a Bothan's eyes, he had wings, and his head was shorter and flatter than a Bothan's, yet the resemblance in shape to Bothans took Jazal aback. The shape of this organic presence felt familiar, but the details were all different.

The swarm arrived and hovered over the ship in a circle.

"We are going to leave," Jazal said. "We know we cannot pass your landmines and will leave you and your factories alone."

"Get off our ship!" Prokos ordered sternly.

Jazal worried that this was going to escalate. "Master Prokos, there may be a peaceful—"

—Ignoring Jazal, Prokos force-pushed the winged sentient off the ship.

Jazal, Dibs and a few of the other Jedi gasped in horror.

The Geonosian flew five or six meters, then screamed and clicked angrily; his wings slowed his movements and now he was hovering. The entire swarm was now beating their wings faster. If Jazal had to guess, they were livid.

"We are leaving!" Jazal yelled in as confident a voice as she could muster. She held her ignited saber with two hands defensively.

Two Geonosians dive-bombed Prokos before Jazal could make good with her promise. He screamed and sliced through them both.

Dozens of Geonosians were bearing down on them. The angry breeze from their wings blew Jazal's hair.

One swung a spear at Jazal overhead and she swung back, slicing the spear in two. The Geonosian screamed angrily and retreated into the swarm.

Another Geonosian landed behind Jazal.

Jazal turned and faced him, blade ignited. _This one is exactly as tall as Itoll,_ Jazal shuddered. "BACK OFF!"

The Geonosian stepped forward and stabbed at Jazal.

Jazal dodged one jab, then another, and began surging with adrenaline. Finally, she realised she had no choice. She sliced through the Geonosian in a screaming sob.

The Geonosian gave a high-pitched insectoid squeal as he fell in two.

Three more Geonosians descended on Jazal. She screamed once more and hacked up at them in a Resh-shape, one of their bodies fell on her. Feeling the slime and blood on her face, Jazal screamed in despair. She could taste the sour formic acid.

Dibs yelled in despair too as he took his first life. Jazal could feel him becoming more unbalanced.

Qid Prokos screamed in fear as a group of Geonosians grabbed hold of him.

Jazal tried fruitlessly to force-pull him back to the ground but it was too late. As his screams became more distant, Jazal yelled "Dibs! Get on the ship!"

After Dibs was aboard, Jazal ran up the ramp.

Another familiar-feeling snouted Geonosian tried following.

Jazal swung at him on the ramp, slicing him vertically in two with another yell of despair. The door to the ship shut once Jazal stepped backwards inside, and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing. _This is definitely not like destroying droids._

The huge Dowutin helped Jazal to her feet. Jazal did not know her name, but knew she was a Jedi Counsellor.

The Dowutin looked down at Jazal and said, "I sense your anguish Master, both of you," she said also to Dibs. "There will be time to grieve later."

Geonosians were banging furiously on the hull screeching angrily. Jazal felt very much that she did not belong on their planet. This entire mission was a mistake.

"I am taking command," Jazal gulped. "Pilots get us out of here. Fly through the swarm, but only if you have to. We don't want to kill or injure any unnecessarily."

"Very well ma'am," one of the pilots said.

The pilot and Jazal entered the cockpit. Although there was nothing Jazal could do, she waited in the cockpit to monitor the progress of getting the ship started. The Consular ship lifted off quickly and began heading towards the Petranaki Arena.

Jazal shuddered as the ship began ramming its way through the swarm. Dozens of Geonosians were dying painfully, smashing into the hull until they finally parted and left the ship on its way.

"Ma'am, we are getting a transmission from Grand Master Yoda," the co-pilot yelled in surprise.

"Put it through," Jazal ordered.

Sure enough, Yoda spoke through the comm, "All Jedi ships, assemble at coordinates seven-seven-three by one-zero-nine, grid five."

"Take us there," Jazal ordered.

"Yes, Master Jedi."

Jazal continued listening to the radio transmissions as the Consular ship approached the designated coordinates. She could hear some voices she recognised, many voices she didn't. Numerous male voices with very similar accents were chattering in the comm in a panic:

"We have missiles incoming from sector 3!"

"Evasive manoeuvres!"

*STATIC*

"This is Noble two. We just lost Noble actual, I say again, Noble actual is delta echo, Noble actual is dead. I am taking over operational control of Sectors 5. Noble two is now acting Noble actual."

Jazal and the pilots could not fathom what was going on. It certainly sounded like nothing to do with rescuing Master Kenobi, Senator Amidala, or the Chosen One, and it sounded like a larger operation than they had been briefed on. Jazal sensed that the pilots were even more bewildered by what they saw out of the cockpit window.

"What is going on out there?" she asked.

"Ma'am, there are hundreds of LAAT ships, Republic fighters and—wow!" the pilot gasped.

"What is it?"

"Three, four—no five Acclamators…" the pilot said in awe. "They are bombing the hell out of the planet!"

"The Judicials only had three," Jazal said in a curious voice. "Bombing the hell?"

"I guess the Navy bought more…" the co-pilot said.

A frantic voice started yelling into the comm in the strange accent, explosions in the background, "Lekku blue six to any Acclamators, Lekku blue six to any Acclamators, we are requesting fire support on the Petranaki Arena! Clearance code sigma tau four one seven."

"This is _Pyrrhus_ four," a younger female voice replied in a rural Corellian drawl, "blue six, it's a no-go for turbolaser fire near the Petranaki Arena. That is too close to friendlies. You will have to make do with your ATTEs and LAATs."

"Hailfire droid down! Mop up their infantry!"

"All right blue six, coming around for a second pass, prepare for laser barrage in five seconds."

"This is _Pyrrhus_ actual," an unfamiliar older male voice in a Coruscanti accent said cutting over all of the chatter. "This is a priority one advisory to all Navy and Army ships, authorisation Wobani Lekku seven. Millions of Gala Echoes are swarming, disrupting flight operations in sectors three, four, five and seven. All pilots, you are authorised to fly through the Gala Echoes if necessary. Do not slow down and do not change course."

It was all shockingly matter of fact. For reasons no one aboard the Consular-class understood, the situation seemed to have escalated far beyond a mere rescue mission. Republic forces, who now numbered at least in the thousands, were engaging the droids and Geonosians on many fronts.

Jazal now heard explosions echoing from the sky. At one point, a turret on the ground of some sorts fired up at their consular class ship shaking the whole ship. More than anything, she wished she had her Shadowsync connected to the main display.

As the chaos went on, the voices coming through the radio became less matter of fact, and now more frantic.

"This is Overlord three, we are under fire requesting assist. A Vulture droid is right on my tail. Echo or Noble can you provide—"

"That's a negative Overlord three, Echo four is on a bingo profile. I say again, we are on a bingo profile!"

"This is Noble five, I gotcha covered Overlord three."

"Fifty vixen ultras are flying in from sector 9, are you—"

"—yeah we are on them."

"This is Overlord six, our shots are not penetrating the Hardcell transports. We have confirmation on impacts but effect, please advise. Clankers are covering their retreat on the ground so artillery is still a no go."

The voice of Anakin—the Chosen One—suddenly echoed through the radio in the background giving advice in response. The Padawan said, in a confident voice, "aim right above the fuel cells."

Jazal gasped in shock. It was the last voice in the universe she would have ever expected.

"Good call my young Padawan," Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice echoed through the comm in the background. Kenobi then spoke into the comm directly in a very calm voice, "aim above the fuel cells on the Hardcell-class transports. I say again, all LAATs, aim above the fuel cells. Fighters, continue covering our advance."

The pilots both gasped at something.

"What is it?" Jazal asked.

"They are shooting the fleeing transports of the sky," the pilot said in shock.

"Since when do we take our combat advice from Padawans?" Jazal muttered. "Since when do we shoot fleeing opponents out of the sky?"

* * *

At the coordinates Yoda provided, their ship landed amongst the stunning spectacle that was the Republic's brand-new military. Its veritable arsenal of democracy.

The Acclamator parked next to their meagre Consular ship was a hulking presence. Jazal could sense many thousands of humans running about hurriedly in the makeshift encampment around it.

Republic warships were flying through the sky firing torpedoes which impacted on Techno Union and Trade Federation ships with thundering explosions.

Jazal walked curiously down the ramp of the ship unable to comprehend fully what was now happening. She sensed hulking six-legged vehicles, a make Jazal had never encountered before, were walking all about the encampment.

"Master Jedi," a human wearing white armour said in that strange accent Jazal only recently heard on the radio. "Master Ki-Adi-Mundi wants to speak with you, Prosset Dibs, and Master Marosssk."

"Very well," Jazal said and returned into the ship to get the three Jedi mentioned. The trio quickly returned down the ramp, with the elderly Trandoshan walking as fast as she could.

"Lead the way," Jazal told the human, who was no doubt, one of the new Republic army soldiers who had come to help them rescue Master Kenobi.

As they walked across the dusty surface a whistling noise flew ominously overhead and then hit something with a loud explosion. Jazal could hear panicking human voices coming from the soldier's comm, so she surmised it must have hit one of their own.

Jazal suddenly felt the Geonosian sun on her face and realised that she must have been standing under the Acclamator's shadow. The trio, led by the human in armour, finally reached the tent.

Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was standing before a Holoprojector in the middle

"Jazal, Marosssk, Prosset, we are glad—"

"—Qid Prokos has been captured!" Jazal blurted out urgently.

"Thank you for informing me, we have a lot more to worry about right now," Mundi said. "I will pass it up the chain of command. Now we have to take our next steps."

"Did we rescue Master Kenobi?" Dibs asked.

"Yes," Mundi said in a stiff voice. "We rescued Obi-Wan, Anakin and also Senator Amidala."

Jazal felt a wave of relief and sensed it wash over Dibs too. The Trandoshan, Marosssk, was harder to read.

Jazal asked in a happy tone with her first smile since arriving on Geonosis, "I am very glad to hear. So, we are searching for Qid Prokos and withdrawing then?"

Jazal could sense Mundi's eyebrows raise in shock.

_How is that a stupid question?_

"We aren't leaving then?" Dibs asked sternly, his voice bearing grave concern.

An explosion impacted the ground near them. Mundi held the HoloTable cautiously, looking up at the shaking tent.

"No Jazal, Dibs, we are trying to stop the Techno Union and Trade Federation from escaping. Master Kenobi is—"

"Escaping?" Marosssk interrupted this time, her hiss giving away that she was also puzzled by what was happening. "Why are they trying to escape and why are we ssstopping them?"

This whole situation was completely beyond the three Jedi Consulars' ken. While Jazal could not sense Marosssk's emotions, her snout was now hanging open in astonishment.

Intellectually, Jazal understood that, for some reason, the Jedi intended to now help the Republic use their newfound arsenal to take this planet over. Emotionally, spiritually, logically, legally, she did not understand it at all. This should not be happening. They had come here to rescue two of their own, and a foolish senator not to invade a whole planet.

"So, to be explicit… Master Mundi, we, the Republic, are now at war?" Jazal asked in a firm voice.

"Well, the Senate has not declared war yet, but no doubt the Separatists will. Geonosis had a mutual-defence pact with the Separatists. So yes, Jazal, to be explicit, while the Senate has not voted on it yet, this is now effectively a war."

 _Great. We are launching a pre-emptive strike a planet with a mutual-defence pact with half of the Galaxy without declaring war._ "Okay, now that that is cleared," Jazal said in as calm of a tone as she could muster, which was very shaky "why are we firing on retreating ships?"

"My quessstion too," Marosssk hissed sternly to the Cerean. "If the Nemoidian cowards want to flee why not let them? Enemies in flight cannot put up a fight."

"I did not bring the three of you here to ask me twenty questions," Mundi said sternly. "But, to answer your question, we are firing on them because Master Yoda ordered it. Stopping those ships from leaving Geonosis is now our top priority."

Jazal raised her voice impatiently. "I don't understand how in the blazes we got from a rescue mission to this. Respectfully Master, none of this makes any sense. Why is that our top priority? Why not rescuing Qid Prokos? Why—"

"—you don't need to understand Master Jazal," Mundi said sternly. "And neither do you Marosssk or Dibs. I did not bring you all here so you could question the will of the High Council."

"All right," Jazal sighed. "What did you bring the three of us here for?"

"Two of you have perfect Force sight and can navigate dark places. Master Marosssk, you have infrared vision correct?"

"Correct," the elderly Trandoshan hissed nervously.

"While Master Windu leads the assault on the surface—"

—a deafening explosion thundered nearby, rattling the table. The tent shook, its fabric flopping loudly in the shockwave.

"Well, the lights just went out," Mundi said. "How ironic. That won't be a problem for you three, which segues back to your mission. While Master Mace Windu leads the Clones—"

"—Clones?" Jazal asked.

"—yes, the Republic bought an army of human Clones, but I don't have time to explain. While Mace Windu leads the surface campaign advance, the three of you will go into one of the spires near Stalgasin Spire and sabotage the power in this sector of Geonosis."

All three of them remained silent. The mission sounded completely insane to Jazal. _None of us are going to volunteer for this madness._

To Jazal's astonishment, Master Marosssk suddenly hissed, "very well Massster Mundi, I will lead the assault."

"Glad to hear it," Mundi said serenely.

Jazal and Dibs both bent to the pressure of Marosssk volunteering. Now that a Jedi had taken it upon herself to volunteer leading the mission, the pressure increased fifty-fold to obey.

As Marosssk led them out of the tent, Jazal sensed the presence of several powerful fiery beams cutting through the sky overhead.

Dibs and Jazal raised their heads curiously.

Jazal stopped walking and focused her mind on them. _Where are those beams coming from? Are they ours?_

"Well, Yoda seems to have actually hit a Trade Federation Lucrehulk," Marosssk hissed cynically, as if answering Jazal's question. "Top priority mission accomplished I suppose, but, do take cover—that's an order by the way now that I am in charge. TAKE COVER!"

Jazal, Marosssk, and Dibs got down on all fours and covered their heads.

A tremor shook the camp for a moment, then the strongest wind Jazal had ever experienced blew through kicking dust up. It was like an asteroid impact or an atomic explosion. The sand and dust were caught in Jazal's nose and mouth. The trio were blown so hard by the wind that they bumped into the fabric of the tent they were crouched up against.

"KRIFFING HELL!" Dibs yelled, then began covering his mouth with his tunic.

"Watch your language, young Knight," Marosssk yelled angrily through the howling wind.

Jazal started coughing and choking on the dust. The dust bore a horrible acidic taste, the same formic acid she had tasted earlier. The falling ship must have landed on the active spaceport it took off from and squashed _—why did we do that?_

As what the Republic had just done dawned on her, she recalled one of Yoda's lessons from when she was a youngling: _"the guardians of civilisation, we Jedi are—yet allow civilisation to destroy others needlessly, we must not."_

In truth, Jazal had not really had much respect for the Grand Master since she was very young. She was not jealous of his power and, in fact, never even wanted to become a Jedi Master herself. She wanted to live her life outside of the watchful eyes of her superiors. Yoda failed to gain her attention because he just always seemed both boring and senile, requiring the use of bombastic language to sound remotely wise and intelligent while surrounded by those whom Jazal perceived to be far wiser Jedi.

Jazal's master, Yarael Poof, however, did have great respect for Yoda, despite moral disagreements with Yoda on slavery. Master Poof had warned Jazal several times about respect for her elders when he sensed her feelings towards Yoda.

Today, Jazal had gone from viewing Yoda as merely senile and bombastic to viewing with complete disgust. _Yoda commands real weaponry for the first time in his long life and promptly uses it to rain death and destruction upon this planet. Would Yoda have caused a fleeing capital ship to slam into a populated area of Coruscant? What about Naboo or another human world like Alderaan? What about a world with other snouted sentients like Bothawui or Trandosha or Ithor?_

Noticing that the disgust was not only on her mind, but in her mouth, Jazal pulled her small water flask out of her robes and took a swig. She spat the formic acid and dust out, but remnant dust still gritted her teeth. She took another swig of water and swallowed this time.

Prosset Dribs and Marosssk did so as well.

"You two are quite lucky you don't have eyes," Marosssk hissed after taking a gulp. The elderly Trandoshan faced Jazal with squinting eyes, trying to avoid the dust. "I share your feelings towards Yoda and the High Council, Jazal, but we both need to remember which side we are on. Thinking about Yoda too much will lead both of usss down a dark path, so let's refrain." She now turned to Dibs, "Dibs, you need to control your anger. If you do not, it will consume you. I know you wonder whether I have lost my mind. Well, you tell me..."

They said nothing.

The Trandoshan paused for a moment, thinking as how to best phrase what she had to say next. "I hope that, by destroying that generator, we will save more lives than we take. Yoda, Senator Amidala, and the other warriors have thrust us into this mess and, while unfortunate, taking lives to save the lives of others is now the very best we can hope for. The Force willing, we may even survive to regret this day."

Dibs did not reply. Jazal sensed he remained uneasy.

 _Well, apparently, Marosssk can read us like a book._ Jazal took another sip of water. While she could wash the sour taste of dead Geonosians out of her mouth, it still clung in the air, re-entering with every breath. _I really want this day to be over._


	45. Lir Sey'les

Coruscant

The Bothans had finished tagging today's Geonosian segments. For the four Rangers, the busywork was over. On the other hand, every other officer was in a busy crowd gathered in front of the main viewer bouncing ideas off Krennic.

Sey'les thought this the perfect time to practice her coordination exercises and teach them to Oc'nel and Fojo.

She and Wulf whispered swear-laden tongue twisters with pens on their snouts. "Stupid kriffing humans with their stupid kriffing babbling Geonosian bullshab. Stupid—"

"—Ma'am?" Fojo asked, carefully turning his head with a pen on his thin Rodian snout. "Requesting permission to sit somewhere else, anywhere else." While his tiny snout gave him a disadvantage, his Rodian mouth was also so tiny that it hardly affected the pen's balance when his lips moved.

"Yeah Captain, me too," Oc'nel winced gingerly. His pen shifted precariously as he squinted in anticipation of Sey'les's reaction.

Sey'les glared at the Ensigns, the pen on her snout giving her cross-eye. Oc'nel's fur was swirling with embarrassment. Fojo looked angry.

Amidst the crowd of white and black uniformed officers at the front of the room, Ensign Oryon stared back at the four Rangers away from the screen looking glad that he did not accept Sey'les's offer.

"Permission denied Ensigns," Sey'les said sternly.

"Ma'am, respectfully," Oc'nel growled cautiously, "we might as well all be wearing dunce hats. This is incredibly stupid."

"Incredibly stupid," Sey'les returned her own cautious growl. "Incredibly stupid Ensign?"

"Okay, not incredibly stupid then ma'am," Oc'nel growled nervously. "Maybe… a teensy bit silly?"

"A teensy bit silly?!" Wulf said, folding both of his arms. "Ensign? You think this is a teensy bit silly."

"Yes… no sir," Oc'nel croaked. His pen fell off his snout as he looked down.

"In that case Ensign, pick up your pen and put it back on your snout," Sey'les said sternly.

Fojo and Oc'nel obediently joined in on the coordination exercise. They swore along with Wulf and Sey'les for a minute, then—

"—Guys, I mean, ma'am, sir," Fojo said, interrupting everyone. "You are going to want to hear this," Fojo said in a low voice.

"Ensign we are busy in case you didn't notice," Wulf said huffily. "There will be plenty of time for conversation later."

"Let's hear him out," Sey'les growled cautiously.

"Saying that this is stupid Geonosian babbling a few times has given me an idea. I think I know what's happening ma'am," Fojo said simply. "Captain Krennic knows this is nonsense, but he is trying to wait until the nonsense falls together and matches some past event. Then, he can pretend he predicted it at along and get promoted to Lieutenant Commander."

Oc'nel gasped, his pen nearly falling off his snout. "I think you're right Fojo! Yesterday he was trying so desperately to find a match between anything in the speech stream and the Amidala Senate bombing!"

"And the instant he got me in," Fojo added, "he forced me to find matches with medical terminology. He is looking for absolutely anything that looks like a match."

Sey'les and Wulf paused thoughtfully.

"You might be right. I am going to bring this up to Tarkin after lunch and—"

"—Interesting theory Ensigns," Tarkin's voice came out from under the table.

The four Rangers yelled in terror "AAAHHH!" Sey'les nearly fell out of her chair. Her pen fell from her snout to the floor with a rattle.

"No need to be alarmed, Rangers," Tarkin's voice said mock-consolingly.

All of the Corps of Engineers officers and Intelligence officers were now turned around, facing away from the large viewscreen, looking at the four Rangers, hurriedly picking up pens from the floor.

"KRIFF!" Sey'les gasped. "Governor, you scared me."

"Kriff indeed," Tarkin said.

Oc'nel reached under the table with one arm and strained for a second. His hand came out from under the table holding a round dual speaker-recording device, his snout hung open in shock. He set it down on the table and looked at it wide eyed.

"I have had these suspicions since yesterday, cluing into to the same lead Fojo has," the speaker on the table said with Tarkin's voice.

Captain Krennic walked over angrily to the group of Rangers. He picked up the round listening device off the table. "Governor, respectfully, you can't just install listening devices in the SBI Operations Room. Things that we discuss in here are not necessarily cleared for you to know."

"I have one question Captain Krennic," Tarkin's voice came out with cool methodical venom.

"Yes Governor?" Krennic asked in a wavering voice.

"Where did you get this so-called intelligence? What is the source of the 'kriffing babbling Geonosian bullshab' that we 'kriffing stupid humans' are listening to?" Tarkin asked, repeatedly trilling the r in 'kriffing.'

Sey'les gasped in terror once more.

Wulf looked like he was going to be sick. Sweat was forming on his forehead and his Ardennian tan had gone a few shades paler. He was clearly thinking the same thing Sey'les was: _there is now a greater than zero chance that Tarkin will chuck me in a cargo crate bound for the nearest star._

"Passel Argente's hat Governor," Krennic said confidently. "A direct source if I daresay myself."

"Oh no," Oc'nel growled worriedly.

Fojo sighed.

"I take, from the sound of your Bothan growl Ensign, this is bad. This means we have succumbed to Separatist misinformation Ensigns, am I correct?" Tarkin asked neutrally.

"Yes Governor," Oc'nel croaked.

"Ranger Team 2, report to my office at once, and bring my listening device back to me. We have some work ahead of us."

"Yes Governor," Sey'les said in as even a voice as she could muster.

"But Governor, they still have work to do for me!" Krennic exclaimed angrily.

Tarkin terminated the line without further ado.

* * *

"Now Captain, do you understand why I was so keen on getting Oc'nel and Fojo into our Cell?"

The four Rangers stood at attention in front of Tarkin's desk. Tarkin sat in a rather relaxed manner putting both of his elbows on the desk in front of him staring at the four short sentients.

"Yes Governor," Sey'les answered nervously.

"And why is that Captain?" Tarkin asked. "And, if you don't want to be demoted to Ensign with Fojo as your new Captain Sey'les, I suggest you answer the question intelligently. Your skills as a warrior are certainly still of use to me, but I don't need you as a Captain for that. The way you disparaged other officers was far from professional, whether or not you were ultimately correct. Your military bearing is, frankly, an embarrassment to the entire Republic Captain."

Sey'les gulped. "I am sorry sir," she growled nervously, "Because… Governor, you picked them because Ensigns Fojo and Oc'nel are… quick-thinking. And more importantly, they have insider knowledge about breaches because Pax was their team leader," she stammered, closing her eyes in anticipation of Tarkin saying she is wrong.

"Very impressive," Tarkin replied. "You are very correct on both counts, but the second was what I was looking for."

Sey'les's fur stopped swirling nervously.

"Ensigns, I, myself do not know what is going on exactly. Please explain."

"Governor," Oc'nel stammered, "Pax himself installed the listening device in Passel Argente's hat."

"It's true Governor," Fojo added. "I wasn't there, at the time Oc'nel was severely injured and I was tending to his wounds. We were briefed on it though, along with the Jedi High Council in the temple on Alpheridies. Any intelligence coming from that hat cannot be trusted."

"Incredible," Tarkin said in an astounded voice. "Pax did not include the listening device in his After Action Report. The Jedi High Council… they did not tell any of us!"

"The Director of the Extraordinary Extraction Division, Governor, was present for the briefing," Oc'nel stammered. "We should have known already that Pax installed the listening device."

"Admiral Savine… Could be an oversight I suppose," Tarkin paused thoughtfully. "Very well, Oc'nel and Fojo, I want you to each write a report on Team Cresh's mission from start to finish for the SAC and SBI. And Oc'nel?"

"Yes Governor?" Oc'nel asked.

"I do not have access to Master Jazal's After Action Report. Could you please fetch it for me?"

"Yes Governor," Oc'nel growled nervously.

_Tarkin knows,_ Sey'les thought. _He knows about Oc'nel and Jazal but he didn't know Passel Argente's hat was bogus intelligence?_

Tarkin's door opened. Sey'les, standing at attention, did not turn around.

Captain Krennic walked into her view around the side of Tarkin's table. Krennic did not seem to take the clue from the Rangers and did not stand at attention. "Yes Governor?" he asked quietly.

"Captain, I want you and the team you have assembled to prepare to ship out to Geonosis in four hours."

"GEONOSIS?!" Krennic exclaimed. "That's… that's a warzone!" he stammered.

"Ahh why so it is. Obviously, you need to pack a helmet and a blaster. I suggest a thick helmet for you thin skin."

"We are not under your command sir," Krennic said defiantly standing taller.

"True, but the SBI Director already ordered it to be so. The SBI wants your team to delve through the Geonosian technology and later, they plan on eventually adding a Special Weapons something or other to the SAC. For now, you are to _actually_ be useful for once Krennic. Shocking, I know."

"What about Lieutenant Joran and—" Sey'les started.

"—Your team will remain here with me, for now, including, yes, your bone-headed engineers," Tarkin said. "You can be sure that you will be needed off world soon enough. The Galaxy is falling apart at the seams. Also, Captain Sey'les, you will be pleased to know that I found four new Rangers for your team."

"But sir, I haven't had the chance to vet any of them, are they Judicials?"

"Ahh… all in good time," Tarkin said in a suspenseful voice. "The four of you are dismissed for now, but wait at your desk outside, and Oc'nel? Fojo?"

"Yes governor?" they both asked.

"I daresay, you two are welcome to sit at another table if Captain Sey'les and Lieutenant Wulf ever decide to put on their dunce hats on again. I really hope it won't ever be necessary though," Tarkin said with a unlaughing smirk. "Dismissed."

* * *

Sey'les glared angrily at Oc'nel and Fojo. The four were seated to one side of Ranger Team 2's table with eight chairs.

"I am sorry ma'am," Oc'nel growled nervously. "I didn't know Tarkin was listening when—"

"—it was disrespectful," she snapped.

"Ma'am," Fojo said angrily, "your entire exercise was disrespectful. You can't just order to us to insult other officers. It is—"

"—Fojo," Oc'nel interrupted in a stammer.

Sey'les sighed. "I am sorry, you're right Fojo." Her fur swirled guiltily. "I just thought it was funny and Wulf and I have been doing it for so long that it didn't seem kriffed up."

"In our defence," Wulf said, "Sey'les you were right. It really was just Geonosian babbling."

"Yeah Wulf, but—"

"—Whoa…" Oc'nel interrupted, pointing at the large viewscreen in the back of the room. The Republic had brought down a Separatist Lucrehulk and it was crashing down onto the surface. The display had no sound on, and the Lucrehulk hit Geonosis silently, kicking dust into the atmosphere.

"Shassa!" Fojo gasped.

Oc'nel began looking nervous.

"I am sure Master Jazal is going to be all right," Sey'les said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Those tactics," Wulf gasped. "Are they even trained?! Who the hell are those guys!"

On the screen, a large group of Republic forces in white armour were standing in lines in the open, not going to prone position even as droids shot at them. Several went down in a hail of blasts kicking up red dust as their bodies hit the ground. A few Jedi were visible running around at the lead of the groups.

"Yeah," Fojo agreed. "Those tactics are awful. I can't believe that's our Army! Where were they even trained?"

"Are we interrupting something?" Tarkin said in a stern voice from behind them.

Sey'les pulled her arm off Oc'nel's shoulder and spun around. Tarkin was standing next to four tan-skinned humans all wearing Naval uniforms. All of them had the same eyes, same nose, the same smell, just different haircuts. She gasped in shock; her eyes wide and snout hanging open. Nothing could have prepared her for this surprise.

"Clones," Tarkin said. "I am assigning these four Clones—"

"CLONES?" Sey'les snarled. _Tarkin thinks I am so incompetent that he had to clone one human four times to get four humans on my team! He must have spent millions of credits. WHAT AN INSULT!_

"Yes Captain, Clones," Tarkin said in a tone bordering on dangerous. "Just like the armoured ones you are watching on the main viewer. Do you have a problem with this Captain?"

"No Governor, no problem at all," Sey'les growled nervously. "I am very sorry for my tone Governor." She groaned at her own stupidity, coming to the realisation that these Clones were far too big a conspiracy to be Tarkin's doing, even as the Governor of Eriadu. There were thousands of them on Geonosis too.

"Good," Tarkin said in an exasperated tone. "I shall leave the introductions to you then Captain," he said before walking to his office.

"Have a good afternoon Governor," Sey'les said politely.

Tarkin shut his door without saying a word.

Sey'les cringed for a moment at herself, then straightened her face. "Clones?!" she exclaimed again to the four identical humans, her snout hanging open in amazement.

"Yes Captain, we are all Clones," the one wearing a Lieutenant pendant said professionally. "I am Lieutenant DZ-9775, but you can call me 'double-seven' and—"

"—double seven," Sey'les snarled. "Double-seven?!"

"Yes ma'am," the Clone said nervously. "Does this growling sound happen when a member of your species is upset?"

"Double-seven is the worst nickname I have ever heard in my life," Sey'les said exasperatedly. "That's like…" she counted with four fingers, "FOUR SYLLABLES!"

"Four syllables? Ma'am, I don't see the problem. Respectfully Captain, there is no anti-four syllable rule—"

"—you're Dub Lieutenant. Just Dub, got it?"

"Roger that ma'am," DZ-9775 sighed as he became just 'Dub.'

"Ma'am," Oc'nel growled nervously, "I don't think it is fair to name the humans. Imagine if someone decided you were now—"

"—ensign, zip it. Continue introducing yourself, Clones," Sey'les said, folding her arms waiting to hear the next catastrophe of a nickname.

"I am Sergeant UF-9087, you can call me Knot ma'am," said the only Clone with a completely shaven head.

"All right, Knot…" Sey'les growled cautiously. _Could be better, could be worse._

"I am Corporal UF-9002, you can call me Wolf—"

"—Wolf?!" Wulf exclaimed furiously.

"Sorry sir. Do _you_ have a problem with my name now, sir?" UF-9002 asked the Ardennian sternly. The look in his narrow eyes screamed: _Great. One neurotic officer is bad enough. Now I have two!_

Wulf walked right up and stood on his tippy toes to get in the Corporal's face. He still could not quite reach. "My name is Razal Wulf."

"Well sir, there is a simple solution. I suggest we just call you 'Razal' then and—"

"—no," Sey'les snarled. "I agree with Lieutenant _Wulf_ , your nickname just doesn't work Corporal."

"Ma'am," Oc'nel growled nervously again, this time with hands balled into fists. "What you are doing is very kriffed up and I object formally for the record. This is not right—"

"—Ensign, we'll introduce you later, wait your turn," Sey'les snarled, cutting him off. She knew Oc'nel had a problem with her correcting the Clones' names but did not want to get into that argument. _These Clones have really kriffing stupid nicknames._

"Yes ma'am," Oc'nel sighed sadly.

Fojo shook his head.

"How about 'Dubs' Captain?" Wulf suggested.

"Yeah," Sey'les gasped thoughtfully. "It makes sense because Wolf starts with double-u, so two of them is… Dubs. Okay Corporal whatever your long number is, you are Dubs, and Lieutenant, you are Dub. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," both the humans, Dub and Dubs, said nervously.

"And you are?" Sey'les asked the final Clone who had no rank on his uniform.

"I am Trooper CT-7007. You can call me Grade," he said with a confident smile.

"Grade? I suppose I _could_ call you Grade human, but I won't," Sey'les said with a feral grin. She was really enjoying this after the rough debrief with Tarkin.

"All right ma'am, what is my nickname then."

"Grath," Sey'les said with a thoughtful smirk.

"Grath?!" the Clone exclaimed. "What is Grath?"

"What is Grath _ma'am_ or _Captain_?" Sey'les growled.

"Sorry ma'am. What is Grath?" the Clone asked curiously. He did not sound opposed to the name, unlike the other Clones, but genuinely bewildered.

Oc'nel scowled and shook his head. He clearly wanted to protest but contained his objection.

_Not picky. I like this one,_ Sey'les thought of the new Clone. _Not a bad looking haircut either but—kriff I am daydreaming!_ "It's Bothese for grade. _Kor grath_ 'the grade' understand?"

"All right ma'am, fine, I'm 'Grath.' What is this 'Bothese' now?"

Sey'les gasped in shock.

Wulf roared with laughter.

"What's so funny Wulf?" Lieutenant Dub asked.

Wulf could not speak. He was laughing so hard. As Wulf continued laughing, he put all four of his arms on the table and braced himself.

"I am a Bothan," Sey'les sighed.

"Oh, I understand ma'am. Sorry, I hope I did not offend. The four of you are the first non-Kaminoans or non-humans I have ever met," Grath explained. "Before today, we never left our Cloning facility."

"All right then welcome to Ranger Team 2. I suppose we need to bring you up to speed. Introduce yourself including your species and planet in that case," Sey'les ordered, then started. "I am Captain Lir Sey'les, a Bothan from Bothawui-4."

"I am Ensign Itoll Oc'nel, also a Bothan, but from Bothaahir."

"I am Ensign Brent Fojo, a Rodian from Dennon."

"I am Lieutenant Razal Wulf, as you know, an Ardennian from Ardennia," Wulf said with a cocky grin.

"Nice to meet you—"

"—Also," Sey'les interrupted, "Ranger Team 1 is mostly human, but they do have one Twi'lek, one Aqualish, and one Trandoshan."

"Copy that," Dub said, recording all of that information onto his datapad. "So, now that we are all one big team, what exactly do we all do here?"

It was Fojo's turn to laugh this time.

* * *

An hour later, Oc'nel and Fojo were still busy typing their long reports, discussing the events with each other and jarring each other's memories. The Clones occasionally interjected with questions that made them sound like they were born yesterday. Questions like: _"What's Felucia like? Jungle? Wow!" "A drunk Jedi?!"_

Even with Sey'les now finished with her warfare on the Clone's established identities,the interactions between the four identical humans and the four aliens were confusing for everyone. Lieutenant Dub made Oc'nel and Fojo call him 'sir.' Both seemed momentarily taken aback by this; conversely, Dubs, Knot, and Grath called Fojo and Oc'nel 'sir.'

Sey'les thought it strange herself. _How can these four identical humans be different ranks? I mean, Grath has the cutest haircut but they smell exactly the same—not just like any old human, exactly the same._

Someone knocked on the metal door to the SAC. Sey'les looked at the security terminal display. It was Ensign Oryon looking up nervously at the camera. "Clones, if you want to see a red furred Bothan, there's one at the door."

"Really ma'am?!" Dub asked excitedly.

Sey'les walked over to the door to the SAC's Ranger Division and opened it. "Ensign?" she said impatiently predicting what the Bothan was going to say.

"Ma'am, I was thinking over what you said a few days ago. I think I would be a great match for your team if you need yet another Bothan. The more Bothans the merrier, as I always say."

"You literally told me you had enough of Bothans. I think we have enough Bothans now," she gestured to Oc'nel with a flourish as if he were a prize possession. Oc'nel raised his head curiously, staring at Oryon and Sey'les with his heterochromatic eyes. The Clones all looked forward curiously at the short fluffy red Bothan in the doorway. Wulf scowled angrily and looked like he wanted to thump Oryon's head.

"All right ma'am, well if any slots open, I would be glad to leave the Engineering Corps and become a Direct Action Operative," Oryon said with a perfectly straight and unashamed face.

"Ensign, there might be a position on another team somewhere in the building I suppose, but as you can see, I successfully recruited four Clones an hour ago, and now I have a full team."

"Very well ma'am, have a good afternoon," Oryon sighed.

"The other Ranger teams are mostly in the Mobility units, Oryon. Captain Higil probably needs someone," Oc'nel yelled helpfully across the room with a smile.

"Thank you," Oryon said sarcastically. Sey'les shut the door on him.

"Sheesh! I was just trying to help," Oc'nel sighed.

"You didn't exactly recruit us did you ma'am?" Dub asked as Sey'les returned.

"Not exactly," Sey'les admitted. "Believe it or not Dub, I tried recruiting Oryon a few days ago and he turned me down in no uncertain terms."

"I can see that," Dub said with a smirk.

"Wow ma'am," Fojo said, "he really does not want to go to Geonosis."

"No, he does not," Sey'les sighed.


	46. Jazal

Geonosis

COUNT DOOKU, along with the Corporate executives and various trade and business guild leaders, had fled the planet successfully. While Yoda's determined efforts had resulted in three more capital ships slamming into the surface of Geonosis in climate-altering explosions, he was unable to stop a single Separatist leader from departing.

Jazal hypothesised that Yoda was only able to focus on the biggest opponent. _The Separatist ships were the biggest targets, so he prioritised them and ignored everything else._

Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been seriously wounded attempting to stop Dooku's escape, and the Republic forces were bogged down on the ground in dust storms as the Separatist leaders simply drifted into higher orbits unopposed.

Hundreds of thousands of human Clones were now engaged in battle for thousands of clicks around the Trippa Hive and Stalgasin Hive. One hundred and seventy-two Jedi, including ninety-one Jedi Masters, had died thus far. The thought that she was promoted to Master over three losses now seemed ludicrous. As Obi-Wan had said in the immediate aftermath of the Antar 4 catastrophe: _"had you told me this yesterday, then it would have been our main concern."_

An hour had now gone by. No doubt millions of Geonosians had been killed. The formic acid content of the air reached levels where even a human, or near human like Jazal, could not only taste it, but smell it. Yet, Poggle the Lesser ordered the Geonosians to fight on. Most of the droid armies had been obliterated, and still the Geonosians fought on.

In their open-doored LAAT gunship en route to a spire near the Stalgasin Hive, the smell of formic acid was noticeable even 2,000 meters above the ground. Jazal tried avoiding opening her mouth and breathed through her nose, finding the smell more preferable to the taste.

As the LAAT hurried along over the battlefield, Jazal suddenly found a need to open her mouth. She sensed a Geonosian swarm up ahead flying to the South, likely to flee over the sand dunes away from the battle. "Pilot, fly around—"

The LAAT flew directly into the centre of the swarm with such a hard impact that Jazal, Dibs, and Marosssk lost their grip on their handles and fell down. Marosssk carefully fell onto her elbows and knees, protecting the six detonators she now wore on a vest.

Geonosians were screeching in terror as they were ruthlessly splattered. A few wing pieces and arm parts bounced in through the open doors along with litres of Geonosian blood.

A puddle of gore formed near each of the open doors and a stream of blood ran onto Jazal's sleeve as she lay on the floor.

"PILOT," Jazal screamed furiously. "FLY AROUND THEM!"

"Ma'am, Admiral Alecto ordered us to fly straight through them," the Clone pilot said in protest. "If the Gala Echoes know that we will slow down or go around them, they may intentionally block our routes of approach with their bodies! It puts all flight operations at risk. Master Jedi, Respectfully, this is war."

"Do as Jazal sssays!" Marosssk hissed angrily standing up. She pointed her angry claws at the now cracked turret window, showing her sharp teeth in fury. "Not only are those orders completely psychopathic and criminal, but you are going to damage the ship and get us killed, pilot."

"Master Jedi, our structural integrity is holding. This ship can handle—"

—Marosssk gave a loud, livid, reptilian hiss. For a wild moment Jazal thought Marosssk might ignite her lightsaber and turn it on the Clones.

"Yes ma'am," the pilot said in a defeated voice. "Increasing our altitude to avoid the next swarm."

Dibs, still on his hands and knees, seemed momentarily overwhelmed by the death and gore. Once he began breathing, Jazal extended her hand and helped him up.

While Jazal did not understand how Master Marosssk could follow along with this mission in good conscience, she was very grateful that Marosssk at least had a conscience.

* * *

Upon arriving at the spire, the ship fired a volley of lasers and torpedoes at the Geonosian turrets outside. They exploded with such force that many of the spire's ornate facades crumbled to the ground.

Marosssk, Jazal, and Dibs leapt from the LAAT to the ground, gingerly stepping over the rubble.

As the LAAT hovered higher and promptly flew away, dozens of Geonosians swarmed the trio.

Jazal sensed that several of the Geonosians had blasters. She force-pulled them to the ground and hacked them to pieces, sighing and moaning in sadness when it was over.

"Good thinking," Marosssk hissed as she threw her saber into a crowd emerging from the doorway.

Dibs reluctantly hacked through several more.

The trio quickly rushed into the spire. A being with eyesight would have no doubt perceived a huge difference in lighting between the surface of Geonosis and inside the spire. For Jazal however, the difference was mainly that she could no longer feel the sun, and the air felt less dry. It had a very eerily lived-in feel and smelled like mould and fungus.

Soon there was so much life all around that Jazal could not even sense the shapes of the interior. It felt like she, Marosssk, and Dibs were merely standing in the middle of a swarm.

"They are everywhere Marosssk, watch out," Jazal warned.

Dozens of Geonosians emerged into the hallway with spears. Jazal, Marosssk and Dibs began hacking them. Each one was about as tall as Oc'nel.

* * *

' _A last resort, killing is. The circumstances matter not. Never to become commonplace, killing is,'_ Yoda's bombastic voice echoed in her head.

At this point in the day, the only being in the universe Jazal had a lower opinion of than Yoda, Senator Amidala, or Count Dooku, was Poggle the Lesser. Assuming it still was the same day; Jazal had lost track of time.

Jazal began thinking of the reasons she was angry at all of them:

_Thanks to Count Dooku, we are in this whole mess. Thanks to Padmé Amidala, our strike-force had to act quickly with no time for preparation, costing no doubt, many Jedi lives. Thanks to Yoda, the Republic's arsenal of democracy is now bombing the hell out of this planet for reasons I still cannot fathom. Thanks to Poggle the Lesser, I have gone from killing five sentients to killing sixty-three sentients since arriving on Geonosis. Thanks to him, the Geonosians still have not surrendered._

_Poggle the Lesser's conduct is truly unforgivable_ , Jazal thought. He had ordered his people to fight a far superior force just to allow scum like Watt Tambor and San Hill to escape. To Jazal, the fact the Geonosians were forced to sacrifice their lives for those industrial tyrants and corporate warlords was obscene.

Yoda's success at shooting down Trade Federation capital ships and allowing them to crash onto a populated planet, but failure at capturing a single Separatist leader, infuriated Jazal the more she thought about it. Poggle the Lesser was, no doubt, going to soon escape and abandon his people while the Republic continued advancing on the ground.

Occasionally, as the trio went onwards, deeper into the spire, the ceiling would shake as a torpedo or artillery shell hit a Geonosian position. Dust would fall from the ornately carved ceilings, and Jazal would be reminded once again of the battle still raging on the surface.

"We need to move quickly," Master Marosssk hissed, fumbling with one of the detonite charges on her vest.

Their mission, as outlined by Ki-Adi-Mundi, seemed even more insane to Jazal the further she went on: navigate the catacombs with several detonite charges, plant them on a Geonosian generator, and blow it up. Why blow it up? Jazal did not know. _Just another target for the Jedi to hit._

Dibs and Jazal had been blindly following Marosssk's guidance since the entrance. The uncountable mass of sentients was like static to Miraluka force sight. It was like a moving jungle of life and death in every direction. It was worse than the density of Coruscant.

"I think it is thisss way," Marosssk hissed.

"Master, I sense more Geonosians ahead," Dibs panted.

"I do too, sabers ignited," Jazal said wearily. _Please my snouted aliens. Please choose to live. Please surrender._ "Watch out Marosssk!"

Marosssk, exhausted, seemed to ignore Jazal's warning. She stooped down to fit into the 1.8-meter tall triangular doorway in front of her. As she stooped, a spear emerged from the darkness and cut through her. She gave a gurgling hissy cry and fell backwards.

Jazal gave a screaming sob and reluctantly sliced through the Geonosians emerging from where Master Marosssk had been. The Geonosians shrieked in terror and collapsed, their compatriots flapped their wings madly.

Thanks to the falling set of six legs, Jazal sensed they had been a group of three— _sixty-six sentients. I killed sixty-six now._ She was even more coated in Geonosian blood at this point.

Marosssk began cawing for help in high pitched Trandoshan whine. Jazal grabbed the elderly Trandoshan under the armpits and pulled her backwards.

Prosset Dibs ran to Jazal's position and began frantically hacking at the Geonosian mass emerging from the triangular doorway.

"FALL BACK!" Jazal screamed, worried that Dibs would advance into the swarm.

Dibs hacked at the advancing swarm as he retreated to Jazal's position.

Jazal began grabbing the detonite charges off Marosssk's vest. "Where is the remote?" she asked Marosssk hurriedly.

"Master, what are you doing?!" Dibs screamed in alarm.

"The High Council ordered us to blow the power generator," Jazal yelled back. "Even with our force-sight, there are too many Geonosians to possibly find it without your help Master Marosssk."

A crowd of Genosians was now drawing nearer. Dibs ducked and Jazal reluctantly threw her saber over his head into the crowd of Geonosians, killing five before it returned to her hand. _Seventy-one killed._

This time, Jazal's mind began playing tricks on her. Somehow, the Geonosian shrieks sounded to her like Oc'nel's baritone voice.

Marosssk started hissing in a pained whisper, "go on without—"

"—Marosssk. Dibs and I cannot find our way here. We do not have eyes and rely on force sight. This place is so full of life that we cannot make out the shape of the halls or anything. I am going to detonate it near that door, and then we are all getting out of here. Help me with—"

—blasterfire suddenly blazed over Jazal's, Marosssk's and Dibs' heads, mowing down the advancing Geonosians.

A dozen Clone troopers emerged from behind the trio.

The Geonosians scattered in every direction. The ones who did not retreat into the hole were mowed down by the Clones.

Jazal collapsed to her knees and began tearless sobbing in relief.

"New orders from Master Windu," a Clone said as he extended a hand to Jazal. "Rescue you three."

"It's pitch black!" another one of the Clones yelled. "How can you see anything?"

Neither Jazal, Marosssk, nor Dibs answered his question.

"Those two don't have eyes in case you didn't notice, so they don't see," one of other Clones said awkwardly. "The other one is a lizard of sort."

"Are we abandoning the mission to destroy the power generator?" Jazal asked in her calmest possible voice, but it came out as a breathy panicking scream.

"Yes Master, most of Poggle's warriors haven't surrendered, but they seem to be in full retreat in every surface engagement. There is now a clear path to the Stalgasin control room, and Yoda is already inside it. We don't need to blow the generator, and in fact, keeping it powered will help the Corps of Engineers once they arrive to go over the data. Please come with us ma'am," one of the Clones said calmly.

Jazal and Dibs both gave sighs of relief.

The Clones began putting Marosssk onto a stretcher.

"I can float her if you cover me," Jazal said.

"Float? Isn't it levitation?" Dibs asked.

"A non-Jedi taught me—never mind, fine Dibs, levitate."

* * *

On the LAAT journey back to the makeshift base, Jazal was typing her letter of resignation on her Shadowsync datapad. Marosssk was laid on a stretcher unceremoniously placed on the middle of the floor and remained mostly quiet while a medic, a Clone medic apparently, tended to her injuries. Prosset Dibs was despondent.

Jazal hardly paid attention to anything. She was momentarily surprised when the LAAT touched the ground. All she had left to do was her signature, which she signed with her finger at the bottom of the letter.

"Good luck Marosssk," Jazal said sadly to Marosssk as the Clones carried her stretcher to a gurney and set it on it.

"Farewell," Dibs added.

Marosssk said nothing.

Yoda sat in the command module a short walk from where Jazal and Dibs were set down. They walked slowly past the rows of tents to the prefabricated steel structure lined with terminals.

"Master Jazal, Prosset Dibs, fought well you have. However, deeply troubled, I sense you are," Yoda said calmly.

They were standing in the command module of Camp Lekku far from the front lines.

"Sending you both back to Coruscant immediately, I am," Yoda said sternly, as if it needed to be an order. He clearly expected Jazal and Dibs to beg to remain deployed on Geonosis; to be afraid of looking cowardly.

Neither Jazal nor Dibs protested. The thought of begging to remain on Geonosis was almost laughable. _No Grand Master Yoda! We really want to stay and help!_

Dibs remained completely silent and gave a curt head nod in lieu of a bow to Yoda. She could sense his anger.

"Thank you, Grand Master," Jazal said in a shamelessly relieved voice, and bowed. "Here is my resignation."

"Resignation!" Yoda exclaimed. Never in her life had she ever seen the Grand Master genuinely surprised.

"Yes, Grand Master, I am now going to be the what? Twenty second Jedi Master to leave the Order?"

"Master Jazal, your resignation, I do not accept," Yoda said sadly.

Jazal and Dibs both gasped in shock.

"Do—do not accept?!" Jazal stammered. "What right do you have to—"

"—needed you are Master Jazal. Accept your resignation I will, when the war is finished. That I will promise," he said with a scowl. "Disappointed I am, Jazal. Very disappointed."

"By what right can you deny my resignation? I no longer want to be a Jedi. I—"

"Under the Military Creation Act, the Jedi have the right to retain any personnel deemed necessary to the war effort," Mace Windu said sternly as he entered the command room.

Dibs sighed heavily. He stared at the ground.

"Waiting for you, a transport on pad five is," Yoda said as he turned away and faced the command module's window. "Return to Coruscant, both of you will."

Jazal and Dibs stood in the module in shock.

"Both of you, leave," Mace Windu ordered, not trying to hide his disgust.

The two Miralukas left without saying goodbye. Both of them could sense each other's anguish, hopelessness, and disappointment.

"I was going to resign myself once we got back to Coruscant," Dibs muttered.

"On the bright side, at least we get to leave once Yoda's War is over," Jazal sighed.

As they walked toward pad five, in the tents all around, Jazal could sense the wounded. Thousands of Clones were suffering stab wounds from Geonosians and blaster injuries from droids. A few had missing limbs.

Jazal had become somewhat desensitised to it all. While Jazal had washed the blood off her hands and face, she imagined her cloak and eye covers must be still coated in Geonosian blood. _What would Itoll think if he saw me now? Would he think me a monster?_

They passed a dome-shaped cage full of a familiar swarming mass, wings flapping angrily. Hundreds of Geonosians were locked away. Jazal suddenly felt relief and grinned for the first time in hours.

"Master, I sense your mood has improved. Why?" Dibs asked frankly.

"Some of the Geonosians disobeyed Poggle's orders and surrendered," Jazal said. "It brings me hope because some of them choose to live. Hope that there will still be Geonosians around. Hope that their species will recover."

Dibs sighed in relief. "I hadn't thought of it that way. I see where you are coming from though. Didn't Master Poof write that life is usually in a state of recovery from collapse?"

"Yeah, you've read his work?" Jazal asked. As the platform came within range of Jazal's senses, she could sense an LAAT gunship awaited. Two Clones stood guard in front of the ship.

"Yes, and some of yours too Master Jazal. It is all very different from the mainstream Jedi teachings. Most Jedi believe things stay in balance as the state of nature, and that we must work to keep things in harmony," Dibs sighed. "After today, I am inclined to agree with your point of view."

"I wouldn't argue that chaos is good," Jazal said. "Master Poof just believed, through observation, that chaos and recovery from chaos was itself a part of nature. We still should work to conserve life and protect life."

On the LAAT, Jazal now sensed the presence of Anakin and none other than her least favourite Senator: Padmé Amidala.

As they continued walking, Dibs said in a hushed voice, "You know? A human once told me that killing gets easier. It hasn't gotten any easier for me."

"Nor for me," Jazal sighed. "I mean, I am getting desensitised to the violence, but killing my seventy-first Geonosian," Jazal gulped and nearly choked. She stopped walking and swallowed her spit. "Killing my seventy-first was not much easier than killing my first," she stammered. Jazal turned and faced Dibs. "Who told you that?"

"Would you believe me if I said it were a Jedi?" Dibs said in a quiet whisper.

"Oh yes," Jazal said. "Was his first name Rael, last name Averross?"

Dibs chuckled wearily at that. "No Master, I wish it were an outcast," he sighed. "Nope, it was Master Windu," he angled his head back towards the command module to point at it. "We are so kriffed, Jazal."

Jazal started walking again and Dibs followed.

"What do you mean?" Jazal asked.

"You know how history will remember this?" Dibs whispered. "Master Windu leading us all here to rescue three humans from a wrongful execution. Mission accomplished, but at the cost of millions and millions of Geonosians, two hundred Jedi Masters, thousands of humans—Clones, which I also don't think history will be kind to us for. Somehow, Jazal, a rescue mission became a planetary invasion."

Jazal sighed. "I agree. I am not a pacifist. I wasn't leaving the Jedi just because of this, but this is pure unadulterated insanity," she said aloud.

They both stopped as an AT-TE slowly lumbered across their path. The gunman sitting on the turret gave them a salute.

Jazal saluted back. Dibs just stared ahead despondently.

"Even in war, one is supposed to choose their battles carefully. This battle was not carefully chosen and the way we fought was completely reckless. We have given our warrior class way too much power," Jazal finally said once the AT-TE walked out of their way.

"Class?" Dibs asked.

"Yes. We Jedi like to think of ourselves as lacking social classes. We have them. The High Council is now dominated by warriors who act first and think later. Most of us may lack property—"

"—Most?!" Dibs asked alarmed.

Jazal gulped nervously " _all_ of us may lack property, but that doesn't mean we lack social stratification." _Damn. I hope he doesn't—_

"—I see what you mean," Dibs said.

_Phew. No questions about property._

They continued walking until they crossed from the dusty soil to the solid metal of the landing pad. Jazal could now sense that Anakin was lying on a gurney missing an arm. Padmé was sitting next to him.

Excitedly chatting about something, they both seemed totally unphased by their injuries and unphased by the destruction they had all contributed to. Anakin's stump was thoroughly bandaged. Jazal could sense Padmé lean onto his chest and kiss him.

Dibs frowned angrily.

 _These two are perfect for each other,_ Jazal thought as she sighed.

"Hey Masters," Anakin said cheerily as Jazal and Dibs entered the ship. Padmé reclused from his chest quickly.

"Greetings," Jazal replied curtly.

"Greetings," Dibs replied wearily.

Jazal and Dibs sat in the very back of the LAAT, as far away from the two humans as was physically possible.

"Well Padmé, I think we're quite popular," Anakin chuckled in a low voice, but not low enough for Jazal or Dibs to miss it.

"Let's not—" Padmé started, "Annie, let's talk about something else. I think these two look…" Padmé began whispering, not silent enough for Jazal to miss, "they look haunted."

"They're Jedi. They can handle it," Anakin said in a smooth voice, looking into the Senator's eyes.

For a moment, looking at the way Padmé and Anakin interacted, Jazal thought of herself and Oc'nel, but then she clenched her jaw. The fact a Padawan was discussing her in earshot was extremely annoying.

"If you must know young Padawan," Jazal said in a shrill croak, "I am not happy with the outcome today."

"What's not to be happy about Master? We won," Anakin said sternly. "It is unfortunate that we lost people, but Count Dooku will pay for all of the Jedi he killed today… eventually."

 _Perfect. One day, I can take solace in revenge._ Jazal sighed, "Senator, Padawan, you are aware that we came here to rescue you two and Master Kenobi, right? I had never killed a living being before today and now…"

Dibs exhaled in an angry whistle and muttered "kriffing idiots."

"You can't talk about the Senator like that!" Anakin yelled. "Show some respect."

"Anakin, it's okay," Padmé said sternly. "Not everyone handles conflict as well as you or I, not even all Jedi. We have been in battle before."

It was moments like these where Jazal wished she had eyes to roll. _It is probably true though,_ Jazal admitted to herself. _Only someone like Senator Padmé Amidala or Anakin Skywalker could leave Geonosis with a clear conscience._

"Senator, I haven't properly introduced myself to you," Jazal said in an attempt at forced calm. "But I must ask, has your refined presence been on the ground at all since the fiasco at the arena?"

Padmé turned to Jazal, "yes, I was in the air over the battle as it broke out," she said sternly. "I have seen it all Master Jedi." Padmé then added humorously, "I even fell out of an LAAT onto a sand dune so you might say I've been up the well and down the well."

"In case you didn't notice then," Jazal said in what she wanted to be a calm voice, but instead it devolved into an erratic, irrational-sounding, yelling sob, "your foolishness has—" she stopped herself and took a deep breath, realising that her rant sounded hysterical. "I only hope, Senator, that the people on Naboo who voted for you will never have to face the type of insanity you unleashed upon Geonosis."

Anakin's hand closed into an angry fist. Jazal sensed his facial expression change to one of complete hatred.

"When I was Queen, my people endured a blockade that lasted months at the hands of some of the people we fought today on Geonosis." Padmé said sternly.

Dibs cackled. Jazal could sense Dibs' growing anger that matched Anakin's growing hatred for them both.

Jazal did not laugh but she also found Padmé's comparison to be farcical. Naboo had lost fewer than fifty humans and fewer than six hundred Gungans. Jazal alone had taken more lives than Padmé's people had lost.

Padmé raised her voice. "They tried to kill me twice and killed many of my entourage on Coruscant yesterday. I lost my best friend to one of Count Dooku's assassins. While I would have preferred a peaceful outcome, self-defence—"

—Jazal exhaled cynically. "Self-defence? Senator, with all due respect, walking onto someone else's planet… I cannot fathom how anyone would view what happened today as self-defence. At best, it was a pre-emptive strike."

"Masters, respectfully," Anakin said in a slightly angry tone but calmer than Jazal expected. "Leave. Us. Alone."

"You're right," Jazal said in a shaky voice. "We'll leave you be." Feeling the LAAT point up into space, she sat back in her chair.

_Damn that was stupid of me. This is going to come back to bite me. Obi-Wan is going to be furious._

* * *

In the Pyrrhus's sickbay, once again, Dibs and Jazal were in the same room as Anakin and Padmé. Anakin already had a brand-new cybernetic arm attachment, and he was manipulating it proudly.

Across the aisle, Dibs and Jazal were behind a quarantine force-field being scanned for diseases by the medical droid.

Anakin's arm was another reminder to Jazal of how nice it is to be human or near-human. He loses an arm and gets it replaced less than a day later on a ship. Oc'nel loses an eye and they offer him a Bothan-compatible eye with only three colour rods, and Jazal has to personally pay 80,000 credits—as much as a starship, to get him a proper tetrachromatic eye implant.

"You both are suffering from mild radiation poisoning, so you aren't showing symptoms yet. I am giving you both iodine. You need to take these for the next month," the medical droid said.

"Radiation poisoning?" Jazal asked concerned. "Does Master Marosssk know? She is being treated on Geonosis."

"Once we exit hyperspace over Naboo, I will send a message to Geonosis informing them that Marosssk was likely exposed to an unsafe dose of radiation," the droid said calmly. "I am also detecting seven species of infections in or on you Jazal, and four in you Dibs. The problem is, two of them are Geonosian parasites and four are bacteria, and the seventh on your skin Jazal, is a Geonosian fungal infection. I cannot prescribe you very high dosages of antibiotics, antifungal medications, or anti-parasite medications because they will interact."

Jazal sighed. _Great._ "So… low doses and topical medications?"

"Precisely," the medical droid said. "We will focus on treating all of the ones in your bloodstream at once, unless one of them persists. In that eventuality, we will focus on the persisting one. For your fungal infection, apply cream to your face—"

"It's on my face?!"

"Yes, Master Jazal. Apply cream to your face. Also avoid facial contact with humans or near humans."

"What about Bothans?" Jazal asked, then winced when she sensed Dibs' suspicion.

"Bothans?" the droid asked. "Searching my database… yes avoid facial contact with Bothans especially. The Targid Hive fungus is even harder to treat if it spreads under fur Master Jazal."

She sighed as she sensed Anakin and Padmé staring her way too.

 _Oh please. You two can hardly keep your hands off each other,_ Jazal kept the thought to herself but scoffed.

"You are both under quarantine for the next ten hours," the medical droid said sternly.

"Ten hours!" Dibs exclaimed in protest.

"Dibs, we still have six hours from Naboo to Coruscant so it's really four hours. We might infect people before the medication kicks into effect," Jazal said sternly.

"Exactly," the medical droid added in agreement.

"Well, I sure am glad those two stayed as far away from us as possible," Anakin said with a smirk, laying back in relaxation with both his robotic hand and human hand behind his head.

"Anakin…" Padmé mumbled in a warning through clenched teeth.


	47. Zuro Pax

Murkhana

MURKHANA was the most beautiful world Pax had ever been to. The area around Murkhana City was far from serene, with bustling tourism all along the beachfront, speeder traffic, and, in low orbit, a defensive Corporate Alliance fleet; in spite of how busy it was, Pax was still convinced Murkhana was the most beautiful place in the Galaxy.

When Pax first arrived five days earlier, Murkhana City Spaceport was so crowded with defecting Judicials that he and Driffu were redirected to the old spaceport. They landed, not at the Murkhana City Spaceport built on the ocean with ten-kilometre long bridges connecting it to the mainland, but in the old spaceport in the jungle.

Driffu bought a ship and left the planet the day she landed. Pax, on the other hand, spent 600,000 Separatist credits on a two-story house with a swimming pool in West Murkhana City. It was on a jungly hill overlooking the black sand beaches and pristine blue ocean. He had neighbours, but they were separated from him by dense jungle. From his balcony, he could only see the roofs of the houses lower down on the hill.

After just one day on Murkhana, Pax had already decided there was nowhere else in the Galaxy he wanted to live. This was his retirement. This was—

"—Zuro, the job offered to you is now even more important to us given what just happened on Geonosis. Pax, we just declared war on the Republic. If you think the Republic won't bomb the hell out of this world too then—"

"—Zuro, do you want this HoloTerminal on the back wall? We'll need to contract an electrician in that case."

"—all right all right," Pax sighed. "And no, put the HoloTerminal where the outlet currently is!"

He and a Corporate Alliance Koorivar named Sterpen Vaj, were having their third heated discussion this week. They were both seated on the only couch in the living room. The furniture deliverers, a Koorivar, a Chagrian, and a giant Dowutin were awkwardly carrying boxes and furniture into Pax's house in their middle of their conversation.

Intentionally having invited Sterpen over to discuss a job offer during the chaos of moving in, Pax had wanted nothing more than for the Koorivar to just leave—at first. Now however, the Koorivar had gained Pax's reluctant attention.

"Zuro, we could really use your assistance. You know more than a thing or two about the Republic's HoloNet infrastructure. With your assistance, we can figure out what worlds they are going to attack next," Sterpen said calmly, ignoring the loud noises of the movers.

"KRIFFING REPUBLIC!" Pax yelled exasperatedly. He had made a significant effort to ignore the news, swim on the beach, drink some sweet icy drinks. Even ignoring it, Pax would occasionally see the devastation of Geonosis on a public terminal someone else was using.

"I agree," Sterpen Vaj said coolly. "Could we please have this conversation somewhere else?"

"I am not sure. Maybe we should wait until the movers finish," Pax sighed. _I can't go yet. What if they steal my stuff?_

"No one is going to steal your things Pax. This is Murkhana, not Coruscant," Sterpen said sternly."

"All right," Pax said reluctantly. "Hey, I am going to be going. I'll be back in….?"

"An hour," Sterpen suggested.

"An hour, can you guys lock the door if you finish before then?"

"Sure thing," the burly Chagrian said with a smile.

Pax walked towards the front door, slipping around a desk being carried by the Dowutin.

Sterpen had a bit more trouble slipping around the Dowutin and the desk, as he was plumper than Pax. He stood of to the side, waiting impatiently for the Dowutin and the desk to move by.

"My speeder I think," Pax said, grabbing his wide-brimmed Duros hat from the coatrack as he stepped through the door.

"Really Zuro, it is no problem, I can fly."

"I insist," Pax said forcefully, putting his hat on as he stepped through the door. "I haven't flown in two days."

"All right," Sterpen sighed. "It is just well… I hate to say this…"

"WHAT?!" Pax asked. "You badger me into going with you to the Corporate Alliance Headquarters, and now—"

"—your speeder. Zuro Pax, you fly a Flash speeder. That is a Naboo model," Sterpen noted.

"And?" Pax said impatiently. "The Royal Security forces only use the landspeeder model, this is an air speeder.

"Oh, I know! It is a fine speeder, but I worry if we have any Nemoidians visiting today, they might be less than amused."

"Ugh! Don't remind me that the Trade Federation is a part of this Separatist movement!" Pax yelled. "I told you before, I find them disgusting. If they don't like my speeder, they can kriff off. I don't like them."

"I don't like them either," Sterpen admitted. "However, they are a vital ally and—"

"—tell you what Sterpen," Pax sighed. "If I paint my speeder my favourite colour, that is yellow by the way, it won't look like one of the speeders the Royal Security Forces fly, will it?"

"Uh no, I suppose not." Sterpen touched the horn on his head awkwardly, cautiously knocking off a jungle bee that had landed on it.

"You should put a hat on that thing," Pax joked.

Sterpen let off a chuckle. "That was a smart hmm… _tactic_ on your part."

"Thanks," Pax smiled.

"So, I fly today, and you paint your speeder yellow and then you can fly it to the Corporate Alliance and park in our parking lot all you want yes?" Sterpen asked awkwardly.

"Agreed, I'll schedule it to be done tomorrow."

"Good, okay," Sterpen approached his speeder, a black Koro-4 Exodrive speeder. It had the same shape as the Koro-2, but with a passenger compartment two times larger with five seats and four doors.

"I have never been in one of these," Pax remarked as he sat down in the front passenger seat. "It is pretty roomy."

"Indeed," Sterpen said as the speeder lifted off from Pax's driveway. "These babies also have a two-week air supply and can function in the vacuum of space. If, for some reason, I was insane enough to fly this thing to our moon, I could. It would take eleven days at a maximum speed of 800 kilometres per hour. I would have no shower, and only as much food as I could pack in the back seat, but it is possible."

Pax laughed in earnest at that. "You know, some spacers," he gasped catching his breath after laughing so hard. "Some spacers in the Tessa Belt would really do things like that."

"Really?" Sterpen asked curiously. The speeder was now flying over the lush green jungle and houses below.

"Yep really," Pax said. "Some Duros would even build extra oxygen space into speeders like that and use them to get from one side of the belt to another. It could be a journey of a few weeks or even a month. No room for a shower."

"And no room for error either," Sterpen noted in awe.

The speeder passed over the bay separating West Murkhana City from Murkhana City. A long ten-kilometre long bridge connected West Murkhana city to Murkhana Spaceport in the middle of the Bay, and three more bridges connected Murkhana Spaceport to Murkhana City. Far below, smaller hover speeders and pedestrians went along the bridges.

"Ahh we should have taken the jungle route around the bay," Sterpen sighed as they encountered some speeder traffic. His speeder followed in line, closely behind another speeder.

"This is nothing compared to Coruscant Traffic Sterpen. We are still moving," Pax said sternly.

"I imagine not," Sterpen admitted. "In the worst of Coruscant traffic though, this baby could fly into low orbit no problem and skip it. We really don't have that far to go though."

The Corporate Alliance Tower was already visible. The tallest building in Murkhana City, it had recently been renamed Argente Tower.

* * *

"It is an honour to meet you sir," Pax croaked nervously and extended his hand.

The sole being standing in the parking lot atop Argente Tower was none other than Passel Argente himself dressed today in ornate golden robes. This time, he did not wear a pointy hat on his horn.

The tall Koorivar remarked the Duros for a moment, then slowly extended a hand. "It is good to finally meet you too," he said with barely concealed contempt. "Did you normally invade Senators' privacies while you were working for the Judicial Corps, or was it just me? And how the hell did Wookiee urine end up in my ship?"

Pax sighed. "I am sorry about that sir. The Republic ordered us to smash your ship and make it look like piracy. We had almost no oversight at all. Some of the beings under my command got… got a bit hooliganistic."

"Hooliganistic? Is that even a word?"

"I don't know sir, I just want to convey my apologies," Pax said.

"Sterpen here says you may be interested in helping us," Passel Argente said coolly.

"I may be, but I am not going to beg. To be honest sir, while I feel bad about what we did, I don't like the idea of working for an employer who still partakes in the Galactic Slave Trade," Pax said bluntly.

Sterpen looked nervous.

Passel Argente led Sterpen and Pax into the parking lot turbolift. The only button on the rooftop was 'Down.'

"The Corporate Alliance itself discourages slavery. It is not very profitable, except for sexual slavery." Argente said this matter of factly, without the slightest hint of guilt or emotional impact. "In a Galaxy of droid labour there are rare instances where slaves are actually the more profitable alternative."

Pax cringed. "I understand that, but you don't seem morally bothered—"

"—oh, I am morally bothered by slavery my Duros friend, I assure you. We at the Corporate Alliance, unlike the Trade Federation or Commerce Guild, have recently ratified the Century Plan."

The turbolift stopped after descending to floor 304, only twenty floors down from the parking lot. The door opened into a large circular room under construction. Two large, slightly rounded, 10 meter long, 5 meter tall screens sat along the furthest walls of the room. They were both turned off.

Argente led Pax and Sterpen to the right.

"The Century Plan?" Pax asked.

"Oh yes, the Century Plan it is—"

"—wait!" Pax exclaimed as he saw two crates he recognised. They were empty. Broken HoloNet parts were being repaired on the floor. "Sorry sir, are those the crates we stole on Felucia?"

"Indeed," Passel Argente said coolly. "Do you want to hear what the Century Plan is?"

"Yes sir, sorry for the interruption."

"The Century Plan, which all Corporate Alliance companies have agreed to, is a slow phasing out of slavery within one hundred years. By the next century, not a single Corporate Alliance member will have any slaves."

Pax frowned. _I guess it's better than nothing_ , he sighed.

"Do you still find the Century Plan distasteful, Duros?"

"Well sir, no, I don't find abolishing slavery over a century to be distasteful," Pax said evenly. "I just think a century is too slow."

"In the business world, my Judicial friend, rapid change is far too disruptive. Entire economies would topple if we abandoned slavery in too short of a time."

Pax frowned.

"Sterpen says that you enjoy engaging in conflict de-escalation. Is this true?"

"Enjoy it sir? Well, I suppose," Pax said. "De-escalation? There is more de-escalation we can do even though we are already at war?"

They arrived at Argente's office at the end of the hallway. "Take a seat, both of you," Argente said after opening the door.

Sterpen and Pax sat in front of Argente's wooden desk. The room had maroon carpet and elaborate black and gold walls. A single window overlooked the ocean and the cityscape below. While West Murkhana was over the horizon, the spaceport could be seen on the ocean through the window at the very edge of the horizon.

Argente walked behind the desk and sat down. "Yes Zuro Pax, de-escalation. At the moment, we are setting up feeds in this office—still under construction I admit. These will get the truth out to the Galaxy for now. At the moment, Republic citizens are only hearing the narrative presented to them from the Jedi and the Senate. We want them to know about the atrocities! Already over two million Geonosians are dead. You dislike slavery? Geonosians are being rounded up by the Republic and locked into cages, their technology is currently being stolen. You would not hear about that on Coruscant, would you?"

"I suppose not sir, what is it you need me to do? How will this protect Murkhana?"

"Pax, you have a unique set of skills for me. You, and one other Judicial here on Murkhana, Loth Danlos, both are Judicials and have experience with computers and HoloNetworks so you know the HoloNet and you know the Republic," Argente paused for a moment dramatically. "You Zuro Pax, also have leadership experience. Both of you know the Republic from the inside and you know how to lead an organisation in hybrid warfare. We are going to launch Shadowfeeds."

_An organisation?! Six people is hardly—fine I'll let him portray it that way._ "Thank you, sir, but what is it specifically you want me to do? Will Danlos also be working with me? Are Shadowfeeds like Shadowsync datapads?"

"Oh yes, both of you will be working very closely along with slicers, technicians, HoloNet experts… and… Shadowsync?"

Sterpen chuckled a little bit and turned to Pax, "no Pax. Shadowfeeds have nothing to do with Shadowsync datapads. They are a new experimental procedure where we force our way onto the HoloNet. We believe you already have the know-how to do this, but that you just haven't well… done it."

"All right," Pax said with embarrassment. He felt like he should know this.

Passel Argente began narrating again, "most importantly, Pax, you and the engineers, technicians, smart beings, you will be working with the media."

"The media?!" Pax asked alarmed.

"Yes Pax, the media," Argente said. "What we are going to do is force our media into the HoloNet. When Republic citizens see what their government is doing, many will call for peace, more of them will join us, it is the best conflict de-escalation we can hope for."

"Hmmmm," Pax said. "You know what, okay. Now I know what you are doing, you still haven't said exactly what you want to hire me to do?"

"Zuro Pax," Argente said sliding Pax a datapad with a signature box. "I want you to Direct this effort. I am putting you in charge of it."

"In charge of it, sir?" Pax gasped. _I just found out about it a few seconds ago!_

"Yes Pax, as a former Republic team leader, a slicer, someone who has seen and even partaken in some of the Republic's ugly deeds, and participated in the corruption, you are perfect for this job. Do you accept our offer? There is no penalty for you if you refuse and you can still remain on Murkhana. Additionally, I could offer you a position on the Shadowfeeds that won't be—"

"—sure. I accept," Pax sighed. "I just hope this actually helps people in the Galaxy and saves lives, you know."

"Oh, I assure you that it will," Argente said confidently.


End file.
